Prime Minister's Audience with Trade Union a Sign of Change

Sep 2 , 2023

Following months of unheeded requests by the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Union (CETU), Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed granted an audience to the members led by their president Kasahun Follo at his office last week. The three-hour discussion had the Minister of Labor & Skills Muferihat Kamil, and Minister of Justice Gedion Timotios (PhD) in attendance. Revision of income tax proclamation, implementation of minimum wage laws and improved working conditions for labourers across the country were championed by CETU members during the meeting. The Prime Minister promised to address the issues raised by giving a "clear direction" to responsible officials as he lauded the complaints of the labour activists as "appropriate". Kassahun expressed gratitude for being given an audience. "We're hopeful that things will begin to change," he told Fortune. Despite the Tripartite Labour Advisory Board reconvening after two years hiatus and selecting new members chaired by Muferihat, the president of the Confederation maintains that it still has not been particularly useful. CETU was established in 1963 as an umbrella organization for various trade unions across the country, managing to collect nearly a million members. A march on the first of May in which the union had sought to instigate the initiation of a minimum wage implementation process and the effective initiation of the Board was cancelled after security offices denied approval for the assembly.