The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in collaboration with Ethiopia’s labour and social affairs ministry, the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, the Ethiopian Employers’ Confederation and the Ethiopian Industry Employers’ Confederation recently launched a programme on ‘Advancing Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia’. The programme was launched in Addis Ababa in the first week of this month in the presence of minister of labour and social affairs Erogie Tesfay, according to an ILO press release. ”The government of Ethiopia recognizes that an inclusive and job rich growth through decent work is the backbone for achieving the Growth and Transformation Plan vision of becoming a middle income country by 2025” Egogie said. The Ethiopian Government has set out plans to increase its textile and garment exports by $1 billion through its Second Growth and Transformation Plan II (GTP II). The sector is also expected to create more than 300,000 jobs during the planed period. ILO’s programme places decent and human-centred approaches as cornerstone of the future of industrialisation in Ethiopia with an initial focus on the garment and textile industry. At the national level, the project will facilitate dialogue among multiple stakeholders in developing a common vision and strategies to make Ethiopia an African hub of socially responsible production of garment for both global and domestic market. The programme will also support the partners for fixing minimum wage and enhance the capacity of government institutions to prevent and resolve labour dispute. At the regional and sectoral level, the project will assist labour administrations in strengthening the capacity of its inspectors. The programme aims to establish a robust, sustainable and inclusive compliance system and a sustainable system for work place injury prevention, protection and compensation.
