Ministry Launches Workplace Response Protocol

Mar 28 , 2020

The Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs has developed a workplace response protocol to protect employees and the management of private companies from the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The draft protocol was launched on March 27, 2020, with the presence of Ergoge Tesfaye (PhD), minister of Labor & Social Affairs, Tadele Yimer, president of the Employers Federation, Getahun Hussien, president of the Employers Confederation, and Kassahun Follo, president of Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU).  To implement the protocol, which contains basic prevention and specific precautions that employers and safety committees should take, the parties involved are advised to sign a collective agreement. Due to the fast-spreading Coronavirus, employment is being challenged, according to Ergoge. "The protocol will be applied based on the risk factors of the pandemic," said Ergoge. "It would help reduce the effects of the pandemic on the country's economy, sustainability, and the social and economic conditions of workers." The protocol will be applied under the legal and administrative measures that should be taken in the workplace against the virus.  The Council of Ministers has had many federal government employees work from home since March 25, 2020.