Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 1966)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Legislation. Grounds of discrimination. The Committee recalls the absence of legislative protection against discrimination on the grounds of social origin and national extraction, particularly with respect to the Labour Proclamation No. 377/2003 and the Federal Civil Service Proclamation No. 515/2007. It notes the Government’s indication that the grounds of social origin and national extraction are substantially covered by the term “any other” grounds in the legislation (section 14(1)(f) of the Labour Proclamation, and section 13(1) of the Federal Civil Service Proclamation). The Committee recalls, however, that where legal provisions are adopted, they should specify at least all the grounds of discrimination specified in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention (General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 853). The Committee asks the Government to take concrete steps to amend the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation No. 515/2007 and the Labour Proclamation No. 377/2003, with a view to specifying social origin and national extraction as prohibited grounds of discrimination, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Scope of application. The Committee recalls the importance of amending the Labour Proclamation with a view to explicitly providing that workers and candidates for employment, including citizens and non-citizens, are protected against discrimination. The Committee welcomes the Government’s acknowledgement that continuous action is required to address discrimination, including the review and revision of laws, and notes the Government’s assurance that the necessary efforts will be made to review the existing legislation to fulfil the principles and standards under the Convention. The Committee trusts that the Government will take steps to ensure that workers and candidates for employment, including non-citizens, are protected against discrimination in all aspects of employment and occupation, and asks the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. The Committee recalls the Proclamation No. 568/2008, to provide for the right to employment of persons with disability and section 13(1) of the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation, which prohibits discrimination against jobseekers or civil servants including on the grounds of disability and HIV status or AIDS. The Committee notes the Government’s commitment to take the necessary steps to ensure that all workers and jobseekers are protected against discrimination in all aspects of employment and occupation. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the practical application of Proclamation No. 568/2008, including any affirmative action measures taken, and any cases of discrimination brought before the courts. Please also indicate whether a body has yet been established to implement this Proclamation. The Committee also again asks the Government to provide any information on the application of section 13(1) of the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation, in particular with respect to cases alleging discrimination based on disability or HIV status or AIDS and the results thereof.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men. Education and training. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government that the gross enrolment rate for general education has reached 90.15 per cent for girls and 96.6 per cent for boys, and among the total of 371,347 participants in technical and vocational education and training in 2009–10, 171,548 were women. It also notes the Government’s indication that there have been significant achievements in expanding education and training at different levels in the country. The Committee recalls that access to education and to a wide range of vocational training courses is a key factor in determining the actual possibilities of gaining access to a wide range of paid occupations and employment, especially those with opportunities for advancement and promotion (General Survey, 2012, paragraph 750). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any policies, or studies and surveys conducted to address unequal access of women to training and education at all levels, including statistical data on the participation of men and women in the various courses. It also asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved through such measures, including the number of men and women, respectively, who have secured employment after completing the training courses.

Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race and colour. Indigenous communities. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in general terms that it has given due consideration to the development of pastoral regions in its development policies, strategies and programmes, including its five-year Growth and Transformation Plan. The Government also indicates that programmes undertaken to develop pastoralist communities include (i) a water centred development programme aiming at food security; (ii) a sustainable land management programme targeting land degradation; (iii) a land administration programme aiming at securing land tenure. The Committee asks the Government to indicate to what extent consideration is given to the land-based pastoralists’ livelihood and way of life in establishing and implementing the national policy and planning frameworks, including in the context of the programmes undertaken to develop pastoralist communities, with a view to tailoring them to pastoralists’ specific needs. It also asks the Government to indicate how the traditional land rights of pastoralist communities are safeguarded under the national policy, particularly in the context of private land ownership and large-scale industrial farming projects that could be or are being implemented in rural areas. Please also provide any information on the role of the pastoralist communities in the process of the development and implementation of the national policy and planning frameworks.

Follow-up to the recommendations made by the Tripartite Committee (representation made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution). The Committee recalls that the final award for damages claims was rendered on 17 August 2009. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that since Eritrea has not yet settled the payment to Ethiopian workers, the final award has not been enforced, and that the Government is not in a position to provide information on the actual remedies granted to Ethiopian displaced workers. Recalling that the Claims Commission, in its decision of 27 July 2007, recognized that each State party had full authority to determine the use and distribution of any damages awarded to it, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to grant actual relief or remedies to the workers displaced following the outbreak of the 1998 border conflict.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.