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.
If you are unhappy resign, Ethiopian workers told13 June, 2019It seems like work experience in Ethiopia’s growing textile and garment sector matters little for some employers.
PROFILE: Organizing in the garment and textile sector in Ethiopia20 May, 2019On 7 March, thousands of textile and garment workers went on strike at Ethiopia’s biggest industrial park, Hawassa, demanding better wages, safe working conditions and an end to sexual harassment. The workers were not represented by a trade union, because for the past two years, management at the industrial park has refused to allow unions to organize.
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.
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.
Women in the textile and garment sector in Ethiopia trained in labour law29 November, 2018Women constitute more than 80 per cent of the workers in the rapidly growing textile and garment sector in Ethiopia. A good understand of labour laws is crucial to improving industrial relations.
Strengthening union organizing as Ethiopia industrializes12 August, 2018With more industrial parks being opened in Ethiopia as part of government’s industrialization strategies, unions are taking the opportunity to recruit, organize and build their capacity for effective collective bargaining.
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.
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: Union recruits in industrial parks6 December, 2017IndustriALL's affiliate, Industrial Federation of Ethiopian Textile, Leather and Garment Workers Trade Unions (IFETLGWU), is on a recruitment drive. Recently it increased its membership by 13,922 workers, of whom 9,802 were women.
