Institutional Measures
With the objective of protecting, ensuring respect and fulfilling the right of citizens to work as
provided in FDRE Constitution and international agreements, and further assuring industrial peace,
the protection of health and safety of the workers, improvement in work environments and
expanding employment opportunities, and in particular, equal opportunities for, and enhanced
participation of, women and persons with disability, the Government has established the Ministry
of Labour and Social Affairs at the federal level, agencies and bureaus of Labour and Social Affairs
in all the Regional States and City Administrations, as well as a federal Ministry and Regional and
City Administration Bureaus of the Civil Service. Furthermore, the government has instituted a
Labour Relations Advisory Board, a Labour Relations Board, a Public Servants Social Security
Agency, and a Private Organizations Employees Social Security Agency. In addition, Civil Servants‟
Administrative Tribunals and Labour Benches of regular courts have been established to handle
labour litigation.40
Administrative Measures
Another important factor in ensuring respect and protection of the right to work is the steady
expansion of employment services. Of particular relevance in this respect is the assurance of equal
opportunity and full participation for persons with disability. To this end, the government has issued
certain implementation directives, including the proclamations of the Right to Employment of
Persons with Disability; and of Employment Exchange Services.
During the past three years of the GTP, the expansion of investments by micro and small enterprise
as well as by medium and large scale industries has resulted in the creation of significant number of
job opportunities. In 2012/13 alone, micro and small scale enterprises created employment
opportunities for over 1.2 million individuals (0.5 million temporary and 0.72 million permanent). In
addition large scale public projects have created employment opportunities to over 797,995
individuals. Private investments in medium and large manufacturing enterprises, hotels and
restaurants, real estate and housing and other areas are also expected to have created significant
additional job opportunities during the fiscal year under review. The recent rapid economic growth
has, in fact been accompanied by job creation, and as a result, the 2011/12 urban unemployment
40Ethiopian
national human right action plan
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