Definitive Report - Report No 158, November 1976

Case No 815 (Ethiopia) - Complaint date: 26-MAY-75 - Closed

1. 160. The Committee already examined this case in November 1975 and February 1976 and submitted an interim report to the Governing Body at each of those sessions. These reports appear in paragraphs 4 to 28 of its 155th Report and paragraphs 162 to 180 of its 157th Report.
2. 161. Ethiopia has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 162. The allegations still pending after the Governing Body session of March 1976 relate to the detention without trial of Messrs. Beyene Solomon, President of the Confederation of Ethiopian Labour Unions (CELU), and Deputy Workers' member of the Governing Body of the ILO, Mr. Gidey Gabre, Vice-President of the CELU, and Fisseha Tsion Tekie, General Secretary of the CELU, to events concerning the Ethiopian Airlines Workers' Union in which seven members of this union lost their lives, to restrictions on trade union rights caused by the state of emergency and to the arrest of Marcos Hagos and 12 members of the executive of the CELU. The question of the detention of Mr. Beyene Solomon and other union leaders has been discussed on several occasions by the Governing Body, especially during its last session.
2. 163. As regards the arrest of the trade unionists mentioned, the Government stated in a telegram of 9 March 1976 that a pardon had been granted to Beyene Solomon, Fisseha Tsion Tekie, Gidey Gabre, Marcos Hagos and other former union leaders.
3. 164. Regarding the other allegations still pending, the Committee recalls that the ICFTU stated in a communication of 8 October 1975 that certain events in Ethiopia had resulted in the death of seven members of the Ethiopian Airlines Workers' Union and in the declaration of a state of emergency with bans on strikes, and the introduction of further restrictions on basic rights and freedoms. According to the complainant the union in question had been in the process of negotiating with the authorities and, in view of the latter's refusal to come to a mutually satisfactory agreement, had threatened strike action. The security forces had then opened fire on the airlines employees on the grounds of obstruction and for anti-government propaganda.
4. 165. The Government stated in a communication of 5 November 1975 that the ICFTU had grossly misrepresented the facts. The security forces, it added, had arrested, on 25 September 1975, an Ethiopian Airlines employee who was distributing an illegal pamphlet. Several hundred workers had attempted to prevent the security forces performing their duty, had refused to disperse peacefully and had encircled the forces. The security forces had then used tear gas to disperse the crowd which was becoming violent. At that moment, somebody in the crowd had fired a shot on them. They had then opened fire and this had resulted in some casualties. This incident, the Government added, had no connection with the trade union movement or labour disputes.
5. 166. With specific reference to the restrictions on trade union rights during a state of emergency, the Government stated in a letter of 27 March 1976 that the state of emergency was lifted on 5 December 1975 and that the new labour proclamation had been enacted on 6 December 1975. Since then, 714 unions had submitted applications for registration, 320 of which had been registered; the applications of the remaining unions were also being processed. The Government reiterated that there are no restrictions on trade union rights in Ethiopia. In this connection, the Committee notes that the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations studied the new trade union legislation in the light of Convention No. 87 at its last meeting, in March 1976, and made some comments on it in its report.
6. 167. Regarding the events which resulted in the death of seven ¢embers of the Ethiopian Airlines workers' Union, the Committee had, in February 1976, recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to indicate whether a detailed inquiry had been carried out in order to determine the facts and establish responsibilities in connection with these events and to communicate the text of the pamphlet which was distributed. In its letter of 27 March 1876, the Government stated that it had already given a full account of the events which had taken place on the premises of the Ethiopian Airlines, in its letter of 5 November 1975.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 168. The Committee notes that the Government has provided some information concerning these facts and stated that they have no bearing on freedom of association. However, the Government has not specified whether an inquiry was carried out, nor has it communicated the text of the pamphlet which was distributed.
2. 169. The Committee considers that if these events, in fact, had no bearing on trade union rights, then they would not fall within its competence. It considers, however, that the question as to whether these events concern the exercise of trade union rights cannot be decided unilaterally by the Government, but that it is a matter for the Committee to decide after examining all available information.
3. 170. Moreover, the Committee wishes to draw attention to the principle which it has always followed when dealing with cases similar to the present one. In cases in which the breaking up of public meetings by the police for reasons of public order or similar reasons has resulted in the loss of human lives, it has emphasised the special importance it attaches to the circumstances being fully investigated by an immediate and independent inquiry and to regular legal procedure being followed to determine the justification and responsibility for the action taken.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 171. In these circumstances, and with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to note with great interest that Mr. Beyene Solomon and the other arrested trade unionists have been released;
   • (b) to note with interest that the state of emergency has been lifted; that the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has examined the new trade union legislation in the light of Convention No. 87; and that the Committee of Experts has made certain comments on this legislation in its report; and
   • (c) to draw the attention of the Government, in connection with the events which took place on the premises of the Ethiopian Airlines, to the considerations and principles set out in paragraphs 169 and 170 above, and particularly to the importance, on the occasion of such events, of carrying out immediately an inquiry followed by the normal judicial procedure.