Ethiopian teachers union fights to survive
By Sacha Ismail based on a longer article by Wondimu Mekonnen, former lecturer at Addis Abba University and Ethiopian Teachers’ Association
On 14 December, Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA) activist Ayalew was detained without a warrant by the Ethiopian government. Ayalew has reportedly been tortured and denied medical treatment while in police custody. His relatives and fellow ETA members are now extremely worried, as they have not known either his health condition nor his whereabouts since 18 December. Another activist, Mengistu, disappeared on 15 December.
For fifteen years the Ethiopian government has been attempting to dismantle Ethiopia’s trade union movement and the ETA has been at the sharp end of this repression.
When it chose its leadership in 1992, the ETA defied a government expectation that it would fragment along ethnic lines and elected people pledged to defend the profession. Those elected promised to improve the living standards of teachers, reinstate academic freedom, raise educational standards, win access to education for all and establish democracy in the country. The regime moved to disband the leadership and reorganise the union on an ethnic basis, but the union resisted.
After a number of battles, including a mass sacking of lecturers involved in the ETA at Addis Ababa University, the ETA had its bank accounts frozen, its head office closed, its property confiscated and many of its leaders and activists dismissed, arbitrarily imprisoned, disappeared and murdered. When the courts ruled in favour of the union, the government dismissed the judges in question, appointed new ones and upped the repression.
In 1997, the regime’s murder squads gunned down ETA Deputy General Secretary in cold blood on his way to his office. Many Executive members have faced detention and torture. Kebede Desta, the President of the Retired Teachers’ Association, meanwhile, had his eyes gouged out for refusing to testify against Woldesemiate.
For the last ten years, the Ethiopian government has been attempting to get its fake ETA leadership recognised by the courts.
In spite of it all ETA has not stopped organising on workplace issues and it still takes a political lead on issues such as the fight for democracy and combating AIDS.
With the support of the Education International union federation, the ETA will be hold a conference from 7-10 February in Addis Ababa. In the process many activists may be detained or even killed. Solidarity is urgently needed.
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Ethiopian teachers solidarity
This is indeed a very important issue. Bolton NUT passed the following resolution.
I am writing to you to ask for you to bring this motion and action appeal to the attention of your union at workplace, branch, regional and national level. The Ethiopian Teachers' Association has faced severe repression with activists sacked, beaten up, imprisoned, murdered and 'disappeared'- but still the union is in the vanguard of fighting for trade union freedom against the repressive Meles government, a government aided and backed by the British government.
The resolution attached was passed by Bolton National Union of Teachers and is going forward to our Spring conference. The situation is of course grave and requires urgent as well as more long term action. Education International have the following action appeal
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/urgentactionappeal/show.php?id=6&country=ethiopia
Jason Travis
Bolton NUT Committee
Conference notes with concern that the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA) General Assembly of August 2006 was
broken up by armed security forces in violation of Article 3 of the International Labour Convention 87 (that Ethiopia ratified in 1963). ETA activists have been imprisoned and tortured in a long campaign to smash the independence of the trade union. The union’s equipment has been seized, bank account frozen and is prevented from going about its day to day business. International solidarity is a foundation stone of the trade union movement. Accordingly, Conference agrees to publicise the situation in Ethiopia in national publications, to give material and financial support to the ETA and to organise a national campaign, including a national demonstration, for the following objectives · the release of all ETA members from prison· recognition of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association· complete freedom of association and union activity. Conference requests that the Executive puts these points into action and approaches other trades unions, MPs and others to further these aims.
In addition to supporting workers under attack in Ethiopia we can also learn from the heroism and determination of Ethiopian activists.
Wondimu Mekonnen's full article can be read here
www.permanentrevolution.net/?view=entry&entry=1075
An article by me can be read at
www.permanentrevolution.net/?view=entry&entry=698
Please e-mail me at jason2inethiopia@yahoo.co.uk if you manage to get motion through branch or want to know more
Jason Travis
Bolton NUT