Ethiopia Pension law enacted without significant amendment

June 1st, 2009 | EthioPolitics.com |

By Bruck Shewareged, Reporter

Opposition MPs were dismayed on Tuesday when the draft Public Servants’ Pensions Proclamation was tabled for endorsement.

The cause of their dismay, according to them, was the fact the draft law, which was referred to Parliament’s Social Affairs Standing Committee several months ago, came back to the floor for voting with no significant change.

First Lady Azeb Mesfin, Chair of the Social Affairs Standing Committee, while presenting the motion to adopt the law said that the enactment of the law was essential to deal with those deemed to be “excessive labour force” in light of the ongoing restructuring that government institutions were going through.

The law stipulates that any public servant with 25 years of service and who has attained the age of 50 years is entitled to a pension benefit for life.

Those who do not fulfill the requirement mentioned above will be terminated from work and they will be entitled to, at the very least, a payment of 6,000 birr or compensation amounting to a one-year salary.

The government will be assisting those who want to start micro businesses, according to the motion presented by the standing committee.

One opposition MP scoffed at the amount of compensation offered in the law i.e., 6000 birr saying that one can only buy and sell banana with that amount of money but do nothing else.

Bulcha Demeksa, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) said that the motive behind the law is sinister as it was intended to allow the government to terminate the employment of public servants that are not members of the ruling EPRDF.

He hailed the labour law first enacted during Emperor Haile-selassie’s time, which he said protected workers’ rights, and accused EPRDF of coming up with a law that is detrimental to the rights of workers.

Meanwhile, parliament enacted another law on the same day.
MPs voted the Employment Agency Proclamation into law with no opposition and 25 abstention.

The new law restricts foreigners from owning and running employment agencies and imposes strict requirements on the agencies to guarantee the safety of Ethiopian workers employed in other countries by such agencies.