VZCZCXRO0225
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #0209/01 0241402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241402Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8765
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3622

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 000209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/IL: LAUREN HOLT 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR/ILAB: TINA MCCARTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA:  WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR UPDATE 
 
REF: 05 STATE 143552 
 
¶1.  Requested information about the worst forms of child 
labor in Ethiopia follows and is organized per reftel 
instructions. 
 
¶2. 
 
¶A. LAWS AND REGULATIONS PROSCRIBING THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD 
LABOR 
 
Ethiopia's Labor Proclamation (42/93) prohibits children 
below the age of 14 from working.  The same proclamation 
limits conditions of work for children between the ages of 15 
and 18, but such children are allowed to work so long as it 
is not hazardous to their health or developmental progress. 
The proclamation also outlines certain conditions for young 
workers (i.e., maximum of seven working hours per day, 
prohibition of overtime and night work, and provision of 
weekly rest and public holidays).  (Note:  Age 15 is 
consistent with the age of completing primary education, 
while 18 years is consistent with the age of completing 
secondary education.  Article 176 of Ethiopia's Criminal Code 
identifies minors as age 15 or younger, identifies age 18 as 
the age of legal majority, and notes that those between age 
15 to 18 belong to an "intermediary age group."  End Note.) 
 
The Ethiopian Penal Code outlaws work specified as hazardous 
by the International Labor Organization (ILO) convention, but 
the labor law of Ethiopia does not define or specify the 
worst forms of child labor.  The GOE ratified Convention 182 
on May 8, 2003.  As the Ethiopian constitution states that 
all international conventions and covenants ratified by 
Ethiopia are an integral part of the law of the land, the 
list of occupations listed by the ILO Convention would also 
apply in Ethiopia.  The country has not developed an explicit 
list of occupations considered to be the worst forms of child 
labor. 
 
Children are prohibited from working in the following 
sectors:  transportation of passengers and goods by road, 
railway, air or water; work carried out on dockside and 
warehouse involving heavy weight lifting, pulling or pushing 
of heavy items or any other related type of work; work 
connected with electric power generation plants, transformers 
or transmission lines; underground work such as mines, 
quarries and similar work; construction work on high 
scaffolding; working in sewers and digging in tunnels; street 
cleaning; toilet cleaning; separation of dry and liquid waste 
materials and transportation of waste materials; working on 
production of alcoholic drinks and cigarettes; hotels, 
motels, nightclubs and similar service giving activities; 
grinding, cutting and welding of metals; work involving 
electrical machines to cut, split or shape wood, etc.; 
felling timber; and, work that involves mixing of chemicals 
and elements which are known to be harmful and hazardous to 
health. 
 
ILO noted that the Ethiopian government was in the process of 
developing a list of occupations considered to be the worst 
forms of child labor, but a formal list has yet to be 
officially published. 
 
¶B.  REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT 
 
The responsible authority for implementing children's rights 
provisions in Ethiopia is the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Affairs (MOLSA). Courts are responsible for enforcing 
children's rights.  Criminal and civil penalties may be 
levied in child rights violation cases.  According to MOLSA, 
a national strategy is being formulated to enforce child 
labor laws.  Due to the absence of a national strategy, 
investigation and disposition of child rights violation cases 
is minimal.  The Forum for the Street Children in Ethiopia 
reported that only one of 213 child rights cases had been 
adjudicated in a court of law. 
 
¶C.  SOCIAL PROGRAMS 
 
The Ethiopian government encourages children to attend 
school, but it is not/not compulsory.  In recent years, the 
government increased its budget for primary education.  A 
number of schools, particularly in rural and remote areas, 
have been under construction, while existing schools have 
been rehabilitated, to maximize capacity for enrollment. 
There are not enough schools, however, to accommodate 
Ethiopia's population of school age children. According to 
the Ministry of Education, 79.8 percent of school age 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000209  002 OF 002 
 
 
children attended school in the 2003/2004 academic year. 
 
The Ministry of Education provided the following primary 
school retention rates for the 2003/2004 academic year: 
 
GRADE     GR 2  GR 3  GR 4  GR 5  GR 6  GR 7  GR 8 
          ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ---- 
BOYS      66.9% 54.9% 44.9% 37.7% 30.3% 27.1% 20.8% 
GIRLS     67.8  56.4  47.2  40.3  33.2  30.7  24.1 
          ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ---- 
TOTAL     67.3  55.5  45.9  38.8  31.5  28.5  22.1 
 
¶D.  COUNTRY POLICIES AIMED AT ELIMINATING WORST FORMS OF 
CHILD LABOR 
 
There is no particular policy in Ethiopia designed to ensure 
the effective abolition of child labor and to raise the 
minimum working age progressively, but there are various 
economic and social policies that have indirectly addressed 
the issue.  For example, the Ethiopian government initiated 
the education and training policy aimed at achieving 
universal enrollment in primary school by 2015.  A new 
National Plan of Action (NPA) is being drafted which will 
include a component on improving the well-being of Ethiopian 
children.  Little information about the implementation and 
effectiveness of government policies involving the protection 
of children is available, at this time. 
 
¶E.  PROGRESS TOWARDS ELIMINATING WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
Child labor is widespread in Ethiopia.  A 2001 ILO report 
estimates that Ethiopia has 18 million children (age 5-17) 
who comprise 33 percent of the population; one-third of those 
children combine work and school, while one-half work without 
attending school.  MOLSA reports that 92 percent of children 
work in households without pay, while 3 percent are engaged 
in activities other than domestic chores.  On average, 
children work 33 hours per week.  Thirty-eight percent 
confirm that their work affects their schooling.  Two in 
three children indicate that they volunteer to assist with 
household work, while one in four children indicate they must 
work to supplement household income.  According to MOLSA, two 
out of five children in Ethiopia who work are below the age 
of six. 
 
Child labor in Ethiopia is generally comprised of children 
working in subsistence farming alongside their parents in 
rural areas.  (Note:  Eighty-five percent of Ethiopian 
population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. End Note.) 
The GOE does not perceive this as a child labor issue as much 
as a development problem, and therefore tries to tackle it 
through school construction and agricultural development. 
 
MOLSA provided the following data collected in 2001; it is 
the most recent government-issued information. 
 
 
Table 1. 
 
          ENGAGED IN    ENGAGED IN 
          PRODUCTIVE    HOUSE-KEEPING    NOT 
AGE       WORK          ACTIVITIES       WORKING 
------    ----------    -------------    ------- 
5-9            38.9%            35.4%      25.7% 
10-14          62.4             32.9        4.7 
15-17          67.5             29.7        2.8 
 
Table 2. 
 
EMPLOYMENT 
TYPE (CHILDREN 5-17)      MALE   FEMALE   TOTAL 
--------------------      ----   ------   ----- 
Domestic Employee          0.4      1.8     0.9 
Employee (not domestic)    4.1      1.3     3.0 
Self-Employed              2.2      4.1     3.0 
Unpaid Family Work        92.6     91.7    92.3 
Apprentice                 0.1      0.0     0.1 
Not Stated                 0.6      1.1     0.7 
HUDDLESTON