Trade unions in Ethiopia

The trade unions of Ethiopia have a total membership of approximately 300,000. Over 203,000 are members of the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU).

Ethiopia has also ratified ILO conventions 29 (in 2003), 87 (1963), 98 (1963), 100 (1999), 105 (1999), 111 (1966), 138 (1999), and 182 (2003).

An organized labor movement came late to Ethiopia. This was due, in part, to the small size of its industrial working force (which was estimated to number 15,583 in 1957), but more importantly because the Ethiopian government viewed any type of organized protest as a form of insurrection.

Although the 1955 constitution guaranteed the right to form workers' associations, it was not until 1962 that the Ethiopian government issued the Labor Relations Decree, which authorized trade unions. In April 1963, the imperial authorities recognized the Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Unions (CELU), which represented twenty-two industrial labor groups. By 1973 CELU had 167 affiliates with approximately 80,000 members, which represented only about 30 percent of all eligible workers. The CELU drew its membership from not only the railway workers, but included workers at the Addis Ababa Fiber Mills, Indo-Ethiopian Textiles, Wonji Sugar Plantation, Ethiopian Airlines and General Ethiopian Transport (also known as the Anbassa Bus Company).

...
Wikipedia