Ethiopian Teachers' Association
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The Ethiopian Teachers' Association (ETA; ) is a
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. It is affiliated with
Education International Education International (EI) is a global union federation (GUF) of teachers' trade unions consisting of 383 member organizations in 178 countries and territories that represents over 32 million education teachers and education support personnel fr ...
.


Background

The ETA formed in February 1949 by 32 teachers from Minilik Senior Secondary School, located in
Addis Abba Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
, the capital of
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
."Joomla Solutions Template." Ethiopian Teachers Association. Accessed November 20, 2014. http://www.ethiopianteachers.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=54. The ETA was initially named Teachers' Union but in 1965 the association quickly began to be known nationwide and as a result became known as Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA). The ETA has support from
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
,
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
,
Education International Education International (EI) is a global union federation (GUF) of teachers' trade unions consisting of 383 member organizations in 178 countries and territories that represents over 32 million education teachers and education support personnel fr ...
, International Organization for Development of Freedom of Education (Switzerland), World Teachers’ Organization (Belgium),
ILO The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
, United Nation Human Rights Commission, African Education Association for Development, and Teachers’ Associations of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the UK. “The Ethiopian Teachers’ Association unifies all teachers and education personnel in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
."


History

The ICFTU reports ongoing difficulties and harassment of trade union members by government security forces, and specifically notes the ETA. Dr. Taye Woldesemayat, president of the ETA, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in 1996, but was released from prison in May 2002 after 6 years. In 2005, security forces occupied the ETA headquarters in
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
for two weeks, taking vital documents and equipment, and detained six members. Since then, ETA members have been under persistent attack, with more than 20 teachers dismissed for allegedly supporting opposition political parties."Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights: Ethiopia"
, International Trade Union Confederation website (accessed 14 May 2008)
Another act of government harassment started in 1993, when the Ethiopian government created a splinter group with close ties to itself, known as the "New ETA", and began to redirect the ETA’s union dues to it. The original group fought this act in court, twice succeeding in getting the High Court to overturn the government's act in 2006, although these judgments were never enforced. However in a ruling announced 21 June 2007, the Federal High Court ruled against the original ETA, and ordered the ETA to hand over property, other assets, and its name; the
Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia The Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ፌድራል ጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት) is the highest court in Ethiopia. It was established by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia constitution in 1994 and is current ...
denied an appeal 7 February 2008, effectively ending the legal struggle. However, harassment of current and former members by the government reportedly continues. Tilahun Ayalew, chairman of the
Dangila Dangila (Amharic: ዳንግላ) is a town in northwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Agew Awi Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2137 meters above sea level. It is the largest of three towns in ...
chapter of the ETA and coordinator of the program "Education for All", was detained by police from December 2007 to March 2008. He reported that he was imprisoned and tortured at
Bahir Dar Bahir Dar () is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The city is known for its wide avenues li ...
for three to four days before being transferred to a police station in Addis Ababa, where police again tortured him. The Federal First Instance Court then released him on a
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
petition, citing the lack of formal charges. However, shortly after seeing his family upon release, Tilahun disappeared and his whereabouts remained unknown at the end of 2008. Another victim was Anteneh Getnet, chairman of the original ETA in Addis Ababa and an ETA coordinator, who was arrested in 2006 on charges of being a member of the Ethiopian Patriotic Front an outlawed, allegedly armed group operating in the
Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...
. The Federal High Court denied his release, but the Federal Supreme Court released him on bail. After a few additional trial appearances, he disappeared in March, and his whereabouts remained unknown at year's end. Anteneh was first detained in 2006 for over two months on charges of instigating violence in the 2005 elections, and alleged that he was tortured during that incarceration."2008 Human Rights Reports- Ethiopia"
(Ethiopian Guardian; PDF file) (accessed 9 March 2009)


Further reading

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External links



with Taye Woldesemayat


References

{{Trade unions in Ethiopia navbox Trade unions in Ethiopia Education International Trade unions established in 1959