Education International strongly condemns your government’s denial of the rights of the ETA to hold a public meeting to commemorate World Teachers’ Day in Addis Ababa on 5 October, despite the fact that the teachers’ union had notified the relevant authorities about their plan in due time. This is a blatant violation of the union’s fundamental rights, as guaranteed by ILO Convention N°87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise. This Convention was ratified by the Government of Ethiopia in 1963.

At its meeting that took place from 21st to 23rd October 2003, the EI Executive Board adopted a Resolution on Ethiopia. Please find a copy of it as an annex to this letter.

Education International urges your government to rapidly adopt the necessary modifications of the labour legislation in order to bring it fully into line with the provisions of ILO Conventions.

We appeal to you to recognise the ETA as the teacher union representing Ethiopian teachers in accordance with the new law for state administration employees, which has already entered into force; as a matter of consequence, to release to the ETA its funds that have been frozen by the authorities, to return ETA’s offices to the teacher union and to allow the ETA to collect fees from its members for its own use. Furthermore, we call on you to put an end to mistreatment of ETA members who are being harassed, intimidated, jailed and/or assassinated. Finally, we demand that ETA members who have been denied their right to work be reinstated in their jobs.

Education International will continue to monitor closely your government’s progress towards compliance with the recommendations made by the ILO Freedom of Association Committee and the Committee on the Application of Standards. We will also continue to alert the international community whenever there is a breach of international core labour standards, in particular when it affects teachers.

Yours sincerely,

Fred van Leeuwen
General Secretary

Cc: H.E. Ato Harqa Haroye, Minister of Justice, Fax: (251-1) 52 08 74
House of the Peoples Representatives, Fax (252-1) 55 09 00
House of the Federation, Fax: (251-1) 50 07 722
Commissioner of Addis Ababa Police, Fax (251-1) 56 01 12
Addis Ababa City Administration, Fax: 251-1-625525
EI African Regional Office, ICFTU