How Conventions 88 and 181 help change the labour market dynamics in Ethiopia

As the country's economy expands, the labor market must adapt to keep pace. In Ethiopia, Convention 88 for Employment Services and Convention 181 for Private Employment Agencies helped strengthen the reform of the labor market. 

Although Ethiopia is becoming an economic powerhouse in Africa, unemployment remains high, particularly among women and youth. There are some major challenges that Ethiopia's workforce faces. First, there need to be more decent jobs created in the economy to match the size of the labour force, and even with the available employment opportunities, a large percentage of the workforce still faces challenges. Second, skill mismatch is so high that employers struggle to match local workers’ skills to specific jobs. Third, many women do not have the required skills for certain jobs, and there is a gender gap within the workforce. Lastly, training across regions and sectors is also limited.

To tackle these challenges, amendments were made in the country with the ratification of C88 and C181.

The first mover in ratifying the Conventions

Ethiopia was one of the first nations in Africa to ratify both C88 in 1963 and C181 in 1999. The provisions of the two Conventions have been domesticated in local labor legislation encompassing both public and private employment services, and they are regularly revised to reflect changes in the labor market. For example, in 2019, the government adopted the Labour Proclamation, which established a more detailed and stronger mandate for public employment services (labour exchanges) and, for the first time, introduced restrictions for private employment agencies serving the local market. In 2021, the Overseas Employment Proclamation amended an earlier proclamation of 2016, clarifying the role and regulations for overseas employment agencies, types of work, and measures for the protection of workers, among other things.

Fair and free recruitment for workers under the convention

In terms of policies, the Employment Policy on migration, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policies, and social security policies are crucial. As a part of the labor ministry, a plan for job creation was created after ratifying the Convention. In the plan, skilling, intermediation, and other issues are considered. There is a gap in the intermediation of the public and private sectors to provide better coaching and address information asymmetries. The plan in late 2020 looks at the private sector to promote SMEs and help design Active Labor Market Policy (ALMP) that addresses the skills gaps. Furthermore, comprehensive policies have been designed to examine rural women and migrants.

Promoting employers' welfare and protecting workers' rights

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Ethiopia has been established in previous years across all regions of Ethiopia to provide matching services, assessments, and unemployment registrations for job seekers. It is now being considered to look into upgrading the services. PES centers will benefit from digital services such as job posting, digital job matching, and coaching as the services expand and develop. It also collaborates with the World Bank to help job seekers. Youth and job centers have been established to promote self-employment and allow youth to participate in youth entrepreneurship.

Working together with the ILO to promote fair recruitment

Since private employment services have a narrow landscape, the government is now working on expanding it. In terms of PES, the country is working on deepening the services. In some cases, capacity building by private employment agencies in the past decades has provided support for associations and confederations. The ILO has supported the Decent Work Country program in the past few years. In collaboration with the ILO, the country developed a code of conduct and supported its member agencies in promoting fair recruitment.

Future outlook

Challenges still exist in the implementation of conventions such as ALMPs and the development and design of PPP projects for the regulation and promotion of ALMPs. However, there is room to grow in creating a balance between the regulation and technical capacity of regulations, including execution and efficiency, which have been challenges for Ethiopia. To develop and adapt LMI systems in Ethiopia, the agencies have to work together with the ILO to develop the programs. By collaborating with international agencies like the ILO, the labor market in Ethiopia can be further developed along with the country’s economic growth.

To learn more about the conventions, their ratification, and the support they provide to member states, please read more at the ILO Employment Services Portal and/or contact employmentservices@ilo.org.