Talking about Labour Law in Ethiopia means to basically review the history of the last 40-50 years. Present-day labour law, as a specialized law designed to protect employees’ welfare, only came into existence as a result of the modern industrial development and with the rise of the status of the employee as wage earner.
Ethiopia was disparaged for several years by the ILO Committee of Experts, which noted serious discrepancies between the national legislations. The current Labour Proclamation No. 377/2003 has become effective since 26 February 2004. The text repealed Labour Proclamation No. 42/1993 (as amended by Proclamation 88/1994). It has become the principal source of labour law in Ethiopia and labor relationships are regulated by mainly this law and Labor (Amendment) Proclamation No. 494/2006. Managerial employee’s relationship is mainly regulated by their contract of employment and some mandatory provisions of the 1960 Civil Code.