Gov’t Calls for Free Housing to Low-Paid Industrial Parks Workers

The Federal government in Ethiopia says owners of factories operating inside industrial parks should construct houses for their employees. Industrial Parks Development Corporation announced it is attempting to persuade factory owners construct houses for their workers inside industrial parks.

Even though city administration hosting industrial parks are tasked to avert housing problems faced by workers of factories, they are not able to do so. Frustrated by this, the Corporation has made an assessment and reached conclusion that the major reason of the high staff turnover in industrial parks is partly the result of housing problems.

Mentioning the experiences of Shints Garment, operating inside Bole Lemi Park, that managed to reduce staff turnover by more than 85Pct after constructing houses for its employees, Lelisa Neme, in her interview with Fana Broadcasting Corporation, said this would be taken as a benchmark to build housing units for factory workers in other industrial parks.

“We are also trying to persuade real estate developers that are willing to construct apartments for factories that agreed to offer house for their employees,” said Lelisa. “To this end, we are working with Ethiopia Investment Commission, which is helping us persuade potential developers construct housing units.”

The new attempt of the Corporation, coupled with the recently legislated law that requires for the setting of a minimum wage across sectors in Ethiopia, is expected to reduce staff turnover at factories operating inside industrial parks.

A year ago, a study conducted by New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights discovered that entry-level workers in Ethiopia’s garment industries, operating inside industrial parks, are the lowest paid in the world—earning a mere USD26 a month.

Ethiopia’s industrial parks include Hawassa, Bole Lemi, Kilinto, Mekelle, Dire Dawa, Kombolcha, Debre Birhan, Addis Industrial Village and Jimma, among others.

The government of Ethiopia has secured USD103 million in export earnings from products manufactured in industrial parks over the first nine months of its fiscal year started July 8, 2018.