Cas individuel (CAS) - Discussion : 2002, Publication : 90ème session CIT (2002)

Convention (n° 87) sur la liberté syndicale et la protection du droit syndical, 1948 - Ethiopie (Ratification: 1963)

A Government representative stated that the Ethiopian Government had been consistent and clear in all its replies regarding the trial and conviction of Dr. Taye Woldesmiate and the other defendants. As was repeatedly explained by his Government, the issue in question had nothing to do with the individual's previous position and membership in the Ethiopian Teachers' Association (ETA). It was a purely judicial matter and the delay in the appeal process was entirely due to the appellant's failure to lodge his appeal within the period prescribed by law.

The speaker further stated that the latest significant development in this regard was that the appeal proceeding against the conviction of Dr. Taye Woldesmiate and the co-defendants had now been concluded and that a decision of the Federal Supreme Court was rendered on 10 May 2002. Dr. Taye and one of the co-defendants were found guilty under articles 32(1)(a) and 269(c) of the Penal Code of Ethiopia, on a different count than what they were charged with at the outset; namely that of assisting an illegal terrorist organization called "Ethiopian Patriotic Front". The Federal Supreme Court sentenced Dr. Taye and one other defendant to five years' imprisonment as of the date of their arrest. However, since they had already served the time since the day of their arrest, they were released on the date of the final decision of the Supreme Court. The other co-defendants were acquitted as per article 195 (2)(b)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The decision of the Federal Supreme Court, therefore, confirmed the Government's contentions all along that the case had nothing to do with the defendant's trade union activities. The text of the decision would be forwarded to the Office as soon as the translation was ready.

Turning to the issues of trade union diversity, administrative dissolution of trade unions, the right of teachers and other civil servants to unionize, and the scope of the right to strike, he said that the Government had undertaken an extensive process of amendments of the Labour Law and the Civil Service Law. As the task was huge and complex, it had indeed contributed much to the delay of the amendment process. For this reason the Government was unable to meet its commitment to finalize the draft laws in the shortest possible time. In order to address most of the concerns raised and to come up with comprehensive legal texts, the initial draft, after having been examined by the appropriate highest government authority, was now on its final phase of exhaustive review of all the issues involved.

As the first African member State of the ILO in 1923, Ethiopia had ratified an ILO Convention for the first time in 1947. To date it had ratified 19 Conventions. Two Conventions, Nos. 29 and 182, were currently awaiting the approval of the National Parliament, which was the competent authority for the ratification of Conventions. The exercise of amending labour legislation was also part of his country's endeavour to comply with ILO Conventions.

In the human rights field, Ethiopia had acceded to or ratified all core international human rights instruments and at the national level the proclamations to establish the Human Rights Commission and Ombudsperson Office had been promulgated recently. Freedom of association and other fundamental rights were constitutionally guaranteed rights. The implementation of the national poverty reduction strategy was a priority concern to his Government in the achievement of a qualitative improvement in welfare, employment skills and social security schemes and the progress made in this regard was encouraging.

Finally, his delegation solicited the understanding of this Committee that the delay in the finalization of the draft laws was due to the complexity of the issues involved that had demanded a continuous dialogue with the social partners. He further requested the International Labour Office to enhance its assistance to resolve some of his Government's technical expertise constraints.

The Worker members wished to take the Minister's personal participation in the discussions of the Committee as a sign of the importance attached by the Government of Ethiopia to the work of this Committee. They welcomed the information on the release of Dr. Taye from six years in jail. They recalled that his case had been the subject of comments of this Committee and the Committee on Freedom Association. Dr. Taye was not in jail for conspiring to overthrow the government by force. He was imprisoned for his trade union activities as the President of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association. They wanted to know whether the Government would assure them that Dr. Taye could resume his trade union activities and that the interferences in the work of his union would come to an end too. They wished the Committee of Experts to follow up these questions. His release was made possible because of the impact of the ILO supervisory system, which was effective even if a bit slow.

The Worker members deplored that the Government had not sent the report due last year for examination by the Committee of Experts. In the interest of saving the limited time of the Committee they did not wish to repeat in detail what continued unchanged in the situation in Ethiopia regarding the outstanding points before this Committee. They limited themselves to referring to paragraphs 35-38 of Provisional Record No. 19 of the 89th Session of the International Labour Conference. Their own statement from last year was still valid in this case. They only wanted to draw attention to the findings of a recent ICFTU mission, that in Ethiopia the climate was not conducive for the functioning of an independent and democratic trade union movement. They urged the Government to accept ILO technical assistance in drafting amendments to the legislation.

Turning to the explanations provided by the Government for the delay in the amendment process, they indicated that even though consultations were necessary and consensus was desirable, that could not be used to delay action on the part of the Government on matters that were its responsibility. It was the Government that had to fulfil its obligations under the Convention.

The Worker members regretted that, after two decades, there was no real progress in the implementation of Convention No. 87. Despite the personal interest shown by the Minister in the work of this Committee and despite the release of Dr. Taye, everything spoke in favour of a repetition of a special paragraph in this year's report. They noted the Government promised to amend the legislation shortly and that it would accept the assistance of the Office in doing so. They would have preferred to have a commitment to do that before the next session of the Committee of Experts. They regretted that the Government could not meet that deadline. They wanted to know whether the Government would undertake to do the necessary work in the next 12 months and to report on this work to the Conference next year. They also assumed that the Government undertook to submit its regular report for the next session of the Committee of Experts.

The Worker members also urged the Government to cooperate in an investigation by the ILO into the question of the imprisoned trade unionists mentioned last year. Ethiopian trade union leaders in Europe also reported new imprisonments of trade union leaders. This they considered was important for the work of this Committee. They appealed once more to the Government not only to comply with recommendations of the Committee but also to restore genuine trade unions, release all detained trade union leaders, allow previous trade union leaders and activists to return to the country, allow these ex-detainees and ex-refugees to resume their trade union work in normal and safe conditions, and to establish a long overdue independent national commission of inquiry into the murder of trade union leaders. They reserved their position in respect to where the conclusions of the Committee would be placed.

The Employer members recalled that this case had been the subject of comments by the Committee of Experts for the past 20 years, and that the Conference Committee had discussed the case five times since 1995. They welcomed that the imprisoned President of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, Dr. Taye, was released from prison. The Government representative had promised to supply the judgement regarding this case, which would be interesting with regard to the long time the case was pending at court, which, in the past, were deemed to constitute a non-respect by the authorities to guarantee due process to detained or accused persons.

The Employer members referred to the requirement of 20 workers as the minimum number needed in an enterprise in order to establish a trade union, the fact that teachers and public employees were barred from unionizing, and the Minister's right to dissolve registered trade unions, which the Minister did use in the past. They noted that the Government had made promises since 1994 to introduce the necessary legislative amendments. In this light, the promise made by the Government representative could unfortunately not be taken seriously. The Government had in the past failed too often to comply with its international public law obligations deriving from Convention No. 87.

Turning to the right to strike, the Employer members said that their views were well known. It was therefore not necessary to recall their position, which was different from the position of the Committee of Experts on this issue, every time when the Conference Committee discussed one of the numerous cases regarding the application of Convention No. 87.

In conclusion, the Employer members associated themselves with the conclusions which were proposed by the Worker members. They still hoped that progress would be achieved on the case, irrespective of the negative facts the Conference Committee had experienced in the past.

The Worker member of Ethiopia indicated that when this case was discussed in this Committee last year, one of the serious comments made concerned the conviction on charges of conspiracy against Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, the President of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association. His confederation was happy to learn of the decision of the court. He expressed his confederation's commitment to arrange for dialogue between two groups of teachers' associations and resolve their unhealthy differences and help them to work together for the benefit and interest of Ethiopian teachers. He hoped the ILO would support this endeavour. He supported the comments of the Committee of Experts calling for respect for the right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to join organizations of their choosing. His confederation had sent to the Government proposals for amendments to the law, with a view to removing existing provisions of the law requiring a minimum of 20 workers within an enterprise for the formation of a trade union. The Worker member supported the comments of the Committee of Experts calling for the right of teachers and public servants to form trade unions that was currently prohibited by Proclamation No. 42 of 1993. His confederation had sent proposed amendments to the law in this respect. They regretted delays in enacting these needed amendments and urged once again the Government to speed up the process. He also agreed with comments of the Committee of Experts calling for the repeal of the provisions authorizing the administrative dissolution of trade unions which was a violation of Convention No. 87. Similarly, his confederation had sent proposed amendments to the Government. Also in line with the comments of the Committee of Experts, his confederation had sent proposed amendments to the Government regarding the current exclusions of important sectors from having the right to strike as a result of a wide definition of essential services in the existing law. Sectors such as transport (railways, urban and inter-urban services and airlines), banks, postal, telecommunications and fuel stations were defined as essential under the laws. His confederation was of the view that essential services should be restricted to those whose interruption would endanger the lives of persons. He indicated that delays in court decisions were among the major problems faced by Ethiopian workers. The Government should improve the court system for it to be able to render timely decisions. He appealed for ILO technical support in upgrading the efficiency of labour courts in the country.

Despite the proposals for amending the labour laws made by his confederation, in consultations with stakeholders, the process had taken many years. The Government needed to move faster. Encouragingly, the draft law had been presented to the Council of Ministers, but he feared that the setting-up of another ministerial committee to study it would further delay its enactment. He called for this process to be speeded up and for the ILO to support this effort.

The Worker member of Italy indicated that the three Italian trade union confederations she represented had followed the situation in Ethiopia for a long time. Because of the time constraints she did not read her full statement in which she had listed a series of violations of Convention No. 87 received in the last couple of months. She expressed her solidarity with the workers and trade unions of Ethiopia and supported the views expressed by the Worker members in this case.

The Worker member of Senegal stated that this case had already been discussed by the Committee the previous year and, despite its inclusion in a special paragraph, trade union rights continued to be violated. Convention No. 87 continued to be ignored and ever-greater and harsher restrictions imposed on freedom of association. In this regard, the accusations made by the Committee of Experts were eloquent. There were numerous shortcomings in the Ethiopian legislation. The constitutional principles relating to the right of workers to establish and join trade unions were not applied in practice, and the dissolution of unions remained possible. Teachers and civil servants were excluded from the application of these rights. The Government had not shown any sign of good will. This Committee should ensure that persecutions against workers ceased. For that reason, it was necessary to include this case in a special paragraph.

The Employer member of Ethiopia stated that most of the issues raised by the Committee of Experts were very important and complex. Resolving them would necessitate the overhaul of the existing labour laws. The Ethiopian Employers' group had actively participated in the tripartite process for amending the labour law. A great deal of the work had been accomplished and the process was encouraging despite some difficulties encountered. He expressed his concern about the delay in finalizing it. He wished to indicate to the Committee that the situation in his country regarding matters covered by this case had improved significantly. Both the release of Dr. Taye and the ongoing process of amendment of the labour law, even if this process was slow, were positive measures. He could not accept the Committee's recommendations regarding the scope of the right to strike, which appeared to lack objectivity and did not take into account the specific situation of his country.

The Government member of Norway, also speaking on behalf of the Government members of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands and Sweden, expressed deep concern at the extremely serious situation for trade unions, and particularly the interference of the Government in trade union activities. He welcomed the release of Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, the President of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association. However, he deeply regretted the fact that he had been held in preventive detention for six years. He emphasized the importance of the right of all detained or accused persons, including trade unionists, to be tried promptly through formal judicial procedures. This involved, in particular, the right to be informed of charges, the right to have adequate time for the preparation of their defence, the right to communicate freely with the counsel of their own choosing and the right to a prompt trial by an impartial and independent judicial authority in all cases. This also had to include cases in which trade unionists were charged with criminal offences, whether of a political nature or not, which in the Government's view bore no relation to trade union functions. With reference to the drafting of new legislation over the past seven years, he encouraged the Government to forward a copy of the draft legislation to the Committee of Experts. Finally, he urged the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure the full respect of the civil liberties and rights essential for the implementation of the Convention, and to fully comply with the requirements of the Convention.

The Government representative stated that he had listened carefully to the comments made by the social partners and that he valued this opportunity for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue. He indicated that, despite the economic, political and social challenges his country encountered at different levels, the progress achieved in addressing the Committee's concern was considerable. In addition to the release of Dr. Taye, all the other concerns regarding labour issues required a huge task of amending the Labour Law and the Civil Service Law. He indicated that this process, which involved the social partners, was entering its final phase and the progress attained so far was significant despite the complexity of the issues involved and difficulties encountered in reconciling interests of different groups. Regarding trade union diversity, he said it was difficult to obtain its acceptance by the Workers' group as they indicated last year to this Committee that this would weaken the solidarity of workers. His delegation could cite many such issues of controversy in the tripartite process that were delaying the finalization of the amendment process. It was his Government's conviction that this process would be finalized soon and that most of the issues of concern would be addressed to the satisfaction of the social partners. In view of the progress underscored, he expected constructive dialogue, encouragement and understanding from this Committee. He reiterated his delegation's concern, expressed in the general debate, regarding the criteria for selecting the individual cases for discussion in this Committee that his country had continuously been subjected to. On the allegations made by the Worker members, these were new to his delegation as well as to this Committee. He indicated that his Government did not have information on any person detained in connection with the legitimate exercise of trade union activities. If the Worker members believed they had valid and substantiated allegations, they would have to be first communicated to his Government.

The Employer members referred to their initial statement on the case. In the conclusions, the Government must be urged to rapidly introduce the legislative amendments it had promised, and to report on them to the ILO. With regard to the statement of the Employer member of Ethiopia, they clarified that he had made the statement on his own behalf, not on behalf of the Employer members.

The Worker members indicated that, after hearing what the representative of the Government had to say, the arguments that led to the placement of the Committee's conclusions in a special paragraph of its report last year, remained valid. The Government had to put its house in order for next year's session of the Conference. Unless the Government representative could undertake before this Committee, to do the necessary work to ensure compliance with the Convention within the next 12 months, they would request for the Committee's conclusions to be put in a special paragraph. They also said that the criteria for the selection of individual cases for discussions before this Committee were clear and were set in the paragraphs at the beginning of the report of this Committee.

The Government representative indicated that any progress depended on the cooperation of the social partners. He reiterated his Government's commitment to do its best to resolve the outstanding issues if the social partners would collaborate in this process and that the ILO would provide assistance.

The Worker members said that in light of the reply given by the Government representative they requested a special paragraph in this case.

The Employer members agreed that there was no improvement in the situation from last year and the understanding with the Worker members on this question held true. They wished to hear the proposed conclusions before definitely pronouncing themselves on the placement of the conclusions.

After a brief exchange of views between the Government representative, the Worker members and the Chairperson, it was decided to place the conclusions of the Committee in this case, in a special paragraph of its report.

The Committee took note of the statement made by the Government representative and the discussion which ensued. The Committee noted that the Committee of Experts has, for several years now, been commenting upon serious discrepancies between the national legislation and the Convention. These matters concerned the right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to form organizations of their own choosing and the right of these organizations to organize their activities without interference by the public authorities and not to be dissolved by administrative authority. While noting with concern that no concrete progress had been made on these points, the Committee welcomed the Government's desire to receive in-depth technical assistance in this regard, and made an urgent appeal to the Government to take measures urgently, so as to ensure full conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee especially insisted that teachers' trade union rights be fully respected both in law and in practice. Welcoming the release of the trade union leader Dr. Taye Woldesmiate, the Committee nevertheless reminded the Government that respect for civil liberties was essential to the exercise of trade union rights. It expressed the firm hope that the Government would no longer have recourse to such grave measures as the detention of trade union leaders for the exercise of legitimate trade union activities. The Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information in its next report, in particular on any measures taken to give effect to the comments of the Committee of Experts and to transmit with its report any texts of draft legislation being considered. The Committee decided to place its conclusions in a special paragraph of its report.

After a brief exchange of views between the Government representative, the Worker members and the Chairperson, it was decided to place the conclusions of the Committee in this case, in a special paragraph of its report.