Addis Ababa (ILO News) - The forum was officially established in 02 August 2016 after a one day workshop and deliberation between above 1000 participants in Adama City, Aba Gedda Hall. The participants came from different Federal and Regional Government representatives, EEF, CETU and different TU representatives and employers.
Oromia BOLSA presented the forum establishment MOU and the research based justifications for the need to establish the forum. The subsequent discussion was led by H.E Muktar Kedir, President of the Regional State of Oromia; Ato Tadele Yimer, President of EEF and Ato Kassahun Follo, President of CETU.
The major objectives of the forum were:
To build trust among workers, employers and government;
To create harmonious industrial relations by creating a platform for discussion among key stakeholders;
To create a platform for workers, employers and the regional administration to jointly discuss social and economic problems affecting the region and to propose solutions;
To work together to ensure full respect for the law of the land and labour standards ratified by the country; and
To involve other key stakeholders to facilitate the economic transformation of the country.
Background Information
Oromia Region holds the largest share in the overall economy of the country since it has the largest population in the country, as well as resources and industries.
The industry sector in the region is growing fast, currently constituting 35,367 private sector enterprises that employ 493,696 workers. This clearly indicates that unless efforts are made to strengthen the necessary capacity to effectively deal with the prospective overwhelming industrial relations, crisis is foreseeable.
In order to speed up development of the manufacturing industries, harmonious industrial relations and strong labour relations are critical. The absence of these critical functions might would open a way for social and economic crisis.
To strengthen labour administration and harmonious industrial relations, coordination among key stakeholders is very important. Specifically the tripartite partners, Government, Workers and Employers’ organizations should create tripartite platform to discuss issues affecting labour administration and propose solution to bring industrial peace and productivity.
