Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 1999, Publication: 87th ILC session (1999)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 1963)

A Government representative expressed his surprise to have been called to address this Committee this year since the cases on which the Committee of Experts had made comments were considered by this Committee at the 86th Session of the International Labour Conference. At that time, the Ethiopian delegation appeared before this Committee and provided a detailed explanation on concerns raised with regard to the application of Convention No. 87 by Ethiopia. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Conference Committee made recommendations and asked the Ethiopian Government to supply a detailed report for the subsequent session of the Committee of Experts. Accordingly, detailed reports were furnished to the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association with the necessary documents, including a translation of a supporting court decision. In these reports, the Government explained the concrete measures taken to ensure full conformity with Convention No. 87 both in law and practice. In this regard, the active and ongoing consultation with the social partners with a view to amending the Labour Proclamation was one concrete example of the efforts undertaken by the Government to continue to fully comply with the Convention. This exercise bore witness to the fact that the comments made by the Committee of Experts and the discussion held in this Committee in 1998 had been taken account of. While the Government highly appreciated the constructive comments and suggestions which would contribute to the ongoing tripartite dialogue in the country, it considered that the repetition of these comments this year was unwarranted and that this Committee should have waited for the conclusion of the discussion and the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association. As such, the Ethiopian delegation did not wish to burden the Committee by repeating the views of the Government already presented last year on the same set of issues and only wished to highlight some of these issues. With regard to the former members of the Executive Committee of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, the Federal High Court in Addis Ababa had ruled that "... as the name itself states, the Ethiopian Teachers' Association is an association established by teachers. It, therefore, logically follows that it is only members of the association who as per the rules of the ETA could elect their representatives. Hence, the Court has no jurisdiction to determine which of the disputing Executive Committees is the legal representative of the ETA. The matter has to be left to the ETA's General Assembly decision ...". Therefore, the Court in its decision did not give legitimacy to any of the Executive Committees including the one held by Dr. Taye Woldesmiate. Rather, it empowered the ETA's General Assembly to rule on the legitimacy of the Executive Committee. On the basis of this decision, the ETA General Assembly was called on 18 October 1995 and freely elected the new Executive Committee members. The Court also passed decisions on the management of the property and the assets of the ETA. There was no unilateral action whatsoever which the Ethiopian Government has taken in this regard. Detailed responses with the English translation, of the High Court decision has been provided to the Committee on Freedom of Association. With regard to Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, a former Executive Committee member of the ETA, the Government representative recalled that the Ethiopian Government had repeatedly stated the reasons for his arrest and trial. Currently, the cases of Dr. Woldesmiate and his accomplices were before the second division of the Federal High Court. Dr. Taye Woldesmiate had been held humanely with full respect for his person. Consequently, the allegations of mistreatment were totally unfounded. He had been put on trial for reasons totally unrelated to his activities as a former member of the Executive Committee of the ETA. The charges brought against him related exclusively to his role with the other defendants in an attempted armed uprising to forcibly overthrow the Ethiopian Government. With regard to the recommendations for the amendment of the Labour Proclamation, the Government representative recalled that the Ministry had been holding consultations with the social partners with a view to drawing up concrete proposals to submit to the Government in due course. Any amendment or promulgation of a new law would be carried out in accordance with the priorities and work programme of the legislature. Finally, the Government representative reiterated that the Government would continue to extend its full cooperation to the ILO's supervisory bodies and that the ratifications of the three fundamental ILO Conventions by the Ethiopian Government demonstrated its strong commitment to the fundamental principles of the ILO.

The Worker members recalled that this case had been discussed last year. However, during the past 12 months there had been no respite in the Ethiopian Government's repression of any trade union which was not under its control or that of its supporters. The Worker members provided the example of the national trade union centre, the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) which had been deregistered in 1994 by the administrative authorities, in line with provisions of the 1993 labour law, following the Confederation's criticism of the harsh structural adjustment policy implemented in the country. The authorities reregistered the Confederation in 1997, under a new leadership which was acceptable to the Government. All but one of the nine federations affiliated to the CETU had been brought under government control. One remaining federation, the Industrial Federation of Banking and Insurance Trade Unions, remained free from government interference in 1998, but reported that the authorities constantly interfered in the affairs of its member unions. At the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, an unconstitutional branch meeting was organized with only a minority of members present, and appointed new union officials. Similar events took place at the Construction and Business Bank. In September 1998, during the first round of redundancies, the president of the Banking and Insurance Federation was forced to take voluntary retirement from his position at the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation -- despite the legislative provisions which provide that trade union leaders should be the last to be made redundant. This also meant that he was no longer able to continue as president of the union. Sixty-nine other trade union leaders and members also lost their jobs at the Insurance Corporation.

For the Worker members, the most severe harassment continued to be directed at the unaffiliated Ethiopian Teachers' Association (ETA). They recalled that in December 1994, after a legal challenge from a government backed breakaway faction of the ETA, a court had ruled that the ETA leadership of Dr. Taye Woldesmiate was indeed the legitimate leadership. The breakaway group appealed and the court froze the ETA's bank account. It appeared that over time all their offices had been seized by the security forces and handed over to the breakaway group. ETA harassment only began after the association started to question aspects of the Government's educational policy and to bargain collectively on teachers' pay and conditions of work. In 1997, the Assistant General Secretary of the ETA, Mr. Assefa Maru, was killed by security forces. No independent investigation took place into the murder. Shortly after the murder of Mr. Maru, the ETA General Secretary, Mr. Gemoraw Kassa, went into exile. On 13 August 1998, the ETA head office was occupied and sealed by 30 people, comprising police, security forces and members of the breakaway group. Two members of the union's Executive Committee were detained for seven hours. Tenants in the building were told in future to pay their rent to the Government and not to the ETA. The Worker members further gave examples of events where the police broke up a seminar organized by the ETA, broke into ETA offices and arrested ETA members. Despite two court appearances, ETA members were not prosecuted. One of the ETA members, the acting General Secretary, Mr. Shimales Zewdie, who suffered from tuberculosis, had been held in a cell with around a dozen others and denied medication. All were released on 15 October. In April of this year, the ETA acting General Secretary, Mr. Shimales Zewdie, died as a result of serious health complications following his imprisonment.

The Worker members recalled that the President of the ETA, Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, who had been arrested in May 1996, had now been in prison for three years. He had been charged with conspiracy against high-level government personnel in August 1996, and needless to say, denied bail. Early in 1997, two of the most serious charges against him were dropped. The two main prosecution witnesses had retracted their evidence, stating that evidence had been extracted under torture. One of the prosecutions' witnesses was Dr. Woldesmiate's co-defendants, Kebite Desita, the President of the Retired Teachers' Association, affiliated to the ETA, who had also been in prison for three years following his arrest in March 1996. Dr. Taye Woldesmiate appeared in court once again in July 1998. On this occasion, he said that prison guards had been harassing him and had threatened to shoot him. The judge replied that he had no power over the prison administration and ordered him to remain handcuffed until his next court appearance on 15 September. He actually remained handcuffed until 28 September. His handcuffs were removed once a day when he was allowed to go to the toilet. In August 1998, Amnesty International issued an urgent appeal on behalf of Dr. Taye Woldesmiate and the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment he was receiving. Amnesty International reported that his cell had no natural daylight and that an electric light was switched on for 24 hours a day. In 1999, Dr. Taye Woldesmiate appeared in court several times but the case was adjourned each time because of the illness of his co-defendant, Kebite Desita. On 29 March this year, after three years in prison and of ill-treatment, Kebite Desita died in prison. On 3 June 1999, Dr. Taye Woldesmiate was convicted on the false charge of conspiracy to overthrow the State. The conviction carried a possible sentence of five to 25 years in prison, or death. The Worker members were outraged at this conviction. Needless to say, there were serious questions about the whole process of the trial. Changes to the judiciary had raised serious questions about its independence.

The Worker members observed that, in its observation, the Committee of Experts noted with serious concern the grave allegations in respect to Ethiopia which had been brought before the Committee on Freedom of Association. The Committee of Experts also noted that Ethiopia's 1993 Labour Proclamation excluded teachers from its scope of application. Furthermore, workers in the state administrations, judges and prosecutors could not join trade unions. There were broad restrictions on the right to strike, and essential services were given too broad a definition. Labour disputes could be reported to the Ministry of Labour by one of the parties for conciliation and binding arbitration. They recalled that, one year ago, they expressed the wish to come back to this case this year in order to measure whether there had been any progress. However, despite the Worker members' efforts to hold a dialogue with the Government, the situation had in fact deteriorated. Despite the Committee's conclusion requesting the Government to reopen dialogue with the ETA, this had not taken place. Instead three of its leaders were now dead and another one was still in prison because of their trade union activities. The Worker members demanded the immediate release of Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, and demanded that the Government guarantee the safety of ETA leaders as they tried to meet with their members in various regions of the country. For the Worker members, Ethiopia was guilty of the most brutal treatment of trade unionists. The strongest language possible should be used and the Committee's conclusion of last year needed to be reiterated.

The Employer members stated that no new information had been provided since 1998, when the case had been discussed by the Conference Committee. Referring to the exclusion of teachers from the scope of application of the labour legislation, they stated that the Government had already indicated in 1995 that it was drafting a Bill to amend the existing legislation, which blatantly violated the provisions of the Convention. With reference to a case where trade union leaders had been removed, he noted from the Committee of Experts' report that the Government had lodged an appeal on this decision. Although the Government representative had provided some oral information on this case, written information was required to enable the Committee to examine the Government's compliance with the principles enshrined in the Convention. The Employer members further stated that the Ministry of Labour had cancelled the registration of the former CETU, which was tantamount to extensive government interference in the right on freedom of association, and a violation of the Convention. As regards the restrictions on the right to strike imposed by the Labour Proclamation, the Employer members disagreed with the Committee of Experts' definition of "essential services" which it considered too broad. The Government could therefore not be requested to follow the Committee of Experts' recommendations in respect of "essential services". In conclusion, the Employer members acknowledged the large number of discrepancies between the legislation and the provisions of the Convention. The Government should therefore be urged to take serious action in order to bring its law and practice into conformity with the Convention.

The Worker member of Ethiopia disagreed with the Committee of Experts' observations to the effect that trade union leaders were nominated and removed by the administrative authorities. He assured the Committee that no trade union leader had been proposed by the Government. The Labour Proclamation clearly laid down that workers could freely elect their representatives. As regards the need to amend the Labour Proclamation, he acknowledged that labour legislation failed to include important provisions and that certain sections were ambiguous. In this regard he strongly endorsed the Committee of Experts' request to the Government to amend the labour legislation and indicated that his Confederation had been collaborating with other organizations to that end. He explained that having identified the inadequacies of existing labour legislation, certain amendments had been prepared by the workers and would be submitted to the National Symposium. He also mentioned that in support of these efforts, the East Africa Multidisciplinary Team was playing an important role in coordinating and bringing together the social partners. Finally, he pointed out that Ethiopia had ratified 19 ILO Conventions, six of which were core Conventions. In this regard, he supported and encouraged the Government to ratify more Conventions in order to increase the protection of workers' rights.

The Worker member of the Netherlands underlined that the present regime in Ethiopia had promised fundamental changes in the legislation but that no changes had been implemented to date. He stated that the Government, just as the Dergue regime, had been trying to use the trade union movement as a transmission belt for its own political purposes. This was clearly illustrated by the fact that the CETU had refrained from criticizing the Government's position. He then brought the Committee's attention to a number of trade unionists, which he named, and who had recently disappeared without trace. He accused the Government of using the conflict with Eritrea to abduct trade unionists. Finally, he again questioned the Employer members' stance on the right to strike, and in particular the discrepancies between their positions in the Conference Committee, on the one hand, and in the Committee on Freedom of Association, on the other.

The Worker member of Ghana expressed his full support of the statement made by the Worker members but wished to emphasize a few points. The statement made by the Government in defence of the serious violations of the Convention was all too familiar. In fact, in his view, there had been absolutely no improvement in the situation in Ethiopia as far as this particular case was concerned. As far back as 1994, the Government had stated in its report that it expected to adopt a new law "in the very near future" to redress the issue of the violation of the Convention raised by the Committee of Experts. Five years later, this law had still not been adopted. It was apparent that the Government of Ethiopia did not intend to take measures to improve the situation of teachers and that other workers in Ethiopia would continue to suffer serious denials of basic human rights. Furthermore, it was not a matter for the Government of Ethiopia or for any other government for that matter to decide on behalf of workers which associations or unions they should become members of. Such acts constituted gross and blatant violations of the Convention and should not be allowed. He therefore suggested that the Government should not only be criticized in the most serious terms possible, but that it should also be requested to bring its law and practice into conformity with the provisions of the Convention as a matter of urgency. Finally, in referring to the statement made by the Worker member of Ethiopia, he denounced the Government representative's apparent efforts to extract a statement from the workers' benches endorsing the Government's actions but trusted that the Committee would be fully able to evaluate the merits of the statement made.

The Worker member of Germany noted with deep concern the present situation as illustrated by the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association in the country regarding freedom of association. A report, published by the ICFTU a few days ago, had also illustrated the serious violations of the Convention in the country. For this reason, a German trade union had addressed the Foreign Minister of Germany and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He further recalled that a leading union activist, Mr. Assefa Maru, had been murdered two years ago in Addis Ababa and the Secretary of the ETA, Mr. Tange, had been imprisoned. To date, no judgement had been pronounced. He further stated that, in general, union activists were frequently imprisoned, dismissed or tortured. Moreover, the restrictions concerning the right to strike were very serious. Referring to the privatization of the telecommunications sector, he considered that workers in telecommunications could not be considered workers of an essential service. In conclusion, he urged the Government to implement the recommendations made by the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association.

The Worker member of Senegal endorsed the observations of the Worker members and the long list of facts which bore witness to the serious violations of the Convention and stressed the importance of denouncing these violations in such international forums as the ILO. As regards the Committee of Experts' observations, which serve as a basis for the present Committee's work, he considered wholly unacceptable several of the serious issues raised, such as the question of forced dismissal of trade union leaders. He underlined the importance of the ILO's nominative function in the legal arsenal of member States. However, he expressed his doubts that the forthcoming legislative amendments announced would serve only as a delaying tactic. He also questioned the capacity and the extent of government interference in seeking to replace organizations which had been freely elected by government-controlled organizations.

The Government representative thanked all the speakers for their comments and endorsed a number of points raised. However, he expressed his profound disappointment in respect of statements made by a number of speakers and completely rejected any suggestion that his Government was blatantly violating the Convention. He mentioned that, for the first time in the history of his country, trade unions enjoyed real freedom of association. He also showed his appreciation for the constructive comments of the Committee of Experts and stated that legal amendments to the Labour Proclamation would be passed in due course. However, he pointed out that such amendments took a considerable length of time and were dependent upon the Government's legislative agenda. As regards Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, he recalled that the charges against him were still being deliberated before the courts and that, in any case, they were not related to his trade union activities. As regards the incident between the police forces and Mr. Assefa Maru, he also recalled that Mr. Assefa Maru had died in an exchange of gunfire when he refused to surrender and that these facts had been clearly established. As regards the issue of deportation, he indicated that it was still under discussion with the tripartite committee. This issue had been introduced to the Governing Body under the false pretence of non-observance of ratified Conventions, and the Governing Body had established a tripartite committee to examine the matter. Hence, it would be adequately addressed by that committee. He indicated that he would not go into detail, but that he wished to inform the Committee that deportation was taking place in full conformity with its international obligations and the relevant national laws. Finally, he reiterated his Government's strong commitment to the principles of the ILO.

The Government representative of Eritrea initially thanked the Committee for its efforts to halt the blatant violations of human rights in Ethiopia. He expressed his regret at hearing a worker betray workers' principles and wished to give evidence in respect of the actual violations of the Convention which had been brought to his attention. He declared that thousands of workers and members of executive committees of trade unions had been deported from Ethiopia to Eritrea on the alleged grounds that they were of Eritrean origin. He maintained that some 60,000 workers had been deported and had also been denied the right to wages earned. He also denounced the alleged practice of maintaining and exposing prisoners to prison conditions which endangered their health. He concluded by strongly condemning the behaviour of the Ethiopian Government.

The Government representative of Ethiopia wished to put on record his most serious disagreement with the misrepresentations made by the Government member of Eritrea. In his view, these statements constituted a serious affront to this Committee and a flagrant abuse of this forum. This Committee should not be used to advance narrow political agendas. In any event, he wished to clarify that the deportations of Eritreans, which had taken place in Ethiopia, related to Eritreans whose clandestine presence in Ethiopia could not be accepted on grounds of national security. These events had nothing to do with the issues presently under discussion.

The Worker member of the Netherlands stated that he believed that the two previous interventions were irrelevant in the context of the Committee's work.

The Worker members called on the CETU to clearly show that they were representing workers' interests and that they were not Government appointees. As regards the position of the Employer members on the right to strike, they made a reference to two resolutions which had been adopted by the Conference in 1957 and 1970.

The Employer members referred to the question, of a more technical nature, raised by the Worker members, regarding the presentation of the Employers' view on the right to strike. In this respect, they recalled article 7 of the Standing Orders of the Conference defining the mandate of the Conference Committee, which had been in existence since 1926 and which differed from the Committee of Experts' mandate. Moreover, the Committee on Freedom of Association, established in 1950, had similar functions to the Fact-finding and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association. Its task was to compile facts on the subject in question and to undertake an initial evaluation. In this regard, it was of no importance whether a State had ratified the Convention. The Conference Committee's mandate was in fact to examine the application of ratified Conventions. In this regard the positions expressed by the Employer members had been first discussed among themselves and subsequently presented to the Committee by its spokesperson.

The Committee noted the statement made by the Government representative and the discussions which took place thereafter. It was deeply concerned also with the Committee of Experts that the Committee on Freedom of Association had to examine, once again, very serious complaints against the Government. These complaints related to the removal of elected trade union leaders and the nomination by the administrative authorities of members of the executive committees of these trade unions, as well as the cancellation of registration of a trade union confederation and detention of trade unionists. It further deplored that the Government had not yet re-registered a teachers' association despite a court order to do so, and asked for information on the manner in which teachers' associations could promote their occupational interests given their exclusion from the scope of the Labour Proclamation. Recalling that last year it had expressed the firm hope that the Government would reopen dialogue with the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, the Committee noted with deep concern that the Committee on Freedom of Association had deplored the fact that trade union leaders have been detained without trial for more than three years. The Committee finally insisted on the urgent need to remove the discrepancies between the law and practice, and the Convention. It strongly urged the Government to take all the necessary steps without delay to ensure that the right of association was recognized for teachers to defend their occupational interests, that workers' organizations were able to elect their representatives and organize their administration and activities free from interference by the public authorities, and that workers' organizations were not subject to administrative dissolution in accordance with the requirements of Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. It asked the Government to respect fully the civil liberties essential for the implementation of the Convention. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government would supply detailed information in its report due this year to the Committee of Experts on the concrete measures taken to ensure full conformity with the Convention both in law and in practice.