Ethiopia issued a new labor proclamation on the 5th day of September 2019.
This new piece of legislation replaces a proclamation that has been in charge for almost 16 years since 2003. The new Proclamation, which is named as “Labor Proclamation No. 1156/2019” has different principles stated in the proclamation itself. The main principles are;
- To ensure that employee-employer relations are governed by basic principles of rights and obligations with a view of enabling to ascertain durable industrial piece;
- To create sustainable productivity and competitiveness through cooperative engagement towards the all round development of the country;
- To lay down a working system that guarantees the rights of the employee and employer in order to freely create their respective associations and engage through their legal representatives; and
- To draw up procedures for the expeditious settlement of labor disputes
Of course, the proclamation also intends to create favorable environment for investment and the achievement of economic goals that is designed at state level. However, this issue needs serious examination by considering the amended provisions vis-à-vis the challenges of investors in the Ethiopian investment climate. We will see details in our subsequent posts.
