We don’t support low wages says Ethiopian labour minister12 July, 2019Low wages in the textile and garment sector of less than US$30 per month are being widely condemned by trade unions in Ethiopia. Now the government is also calling for minimum living wages.
Ethiopian textile unions campaign to end poverty wages 10 May, 2018Wages as low as 600 Ethiopian Birr per month (US$20) continue to haunt workers in Ethiopia’s textile and garment sector. Salaries are not enough for workers, over 90 per cent women, to pay for transport, food and housing, or to support a family. These workers are part of Ethiopia's working poor, while making clothes for brands from Europe, the US and Asia including H&M, Tchibo, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.
Ethiopia: workers strike for a union in Hawassa industrial park26 March, 2019With no commitment towards addressing their grievances, thousands of textile and garment workers at Ethiopia’s biggest industrial park, Hawassa, went on strike 13-15 March demanding that the employers act on sexual harassment, improve health and safety and increase wages.
Job losses wreck livelihoods in Ethiopia’s garment industry 6 September, 2023The Industrial Federation of Textile Leather and Garment Workers Union (IFTLGWU), which lost over 20,000 members due to massive job losses, says the retrenchments are causing untold suffering and increasing poverty amongst the garment workers.
Cost-of-living crisis hurdle for organizing in Ethiopia 15 February, 2024IndustriALL Global Union affiliated unions organizing in Ethiopia's automotive, chemical, electronics, energy, mining, pulp and paper, petroleum, and textile and garment sectors met in Addis Ababa on 13 February to discuss how to strengthen their recruitment and organizing strategies to boost membership amidst a dire cost-of-living crisis.
ILO issues recommendations to Russia and Belarus22 November, 2012The International Labour Organization's Committee on Freedom of Association issued recommendations to Russia and Belarus on cases 2758 and 2090 initiated on the basis of complaints submitted by national unions with the support of IndustriALL Global Union.
Ethiopia: Meeting stirs debate on living wages23 May, 2018A meeting on organizing the international supply chain in the textile and garment sector has kick-started much-needed debate on wages and been met with approval from unions.
Training advances collective bargaining skills in Ethiopia1 March, 2019Collective bargaining is one of the critical skills for Ethiopian trade unions in the chemical, energy, and mining sectors, and the unions are equipping shop stewards through training on what strategies to use when they engage employers.
ACT initiative: a potential strategy for living wages in Ethiopia27 February, 2020The campaign for living wages in Ethiopia is at the point where the question is not when the low wages will be increased but how soon this can be done.
Garment workers in Ethiopia need strong unions3 December, 2019Located in the Sidama Region, Hawassa Industrial Park is the largest in Ethiopia with potential to employ over 60,000 workers, in line with government policies to create decent jobs for millions of the unemployed. The park currently employs about 25,000.
