Labor Dispute In Industrial Parks Of Ethiopia The Case Of Bole-lemi Industrial Park (blip)

he main objective of this study was to explore the state of labor dispute in Ethiopia’s industrial parks with particular reference to Bole Lemi. The study sought to identify the causes of disputes and suggest possible remedies that would enhance industrial peace and symbiotic relation among workers and employers in the interest of increased productivity. A mixed research approach and descriptive and thematic analysis were applied in the course this research. The necessary data was generated through survey, key informant interview, in-depth interview, focus group discussion and field observation with random samples of 240 participants. In addition to these, a robust review of secondary sources has been made primarily to scan the current state of knowledge about industrial parks in Ethiopia in general and identify the existing knowledge gap pertaining to industrial relations in Bole Lemi industrial park in particular. As a major finding, the study revealed that disputes leading to disruption of labor relations at work place mainly arise from low wage and its differentiation between workers based on gender and citizenship (i.e., between local and expatriate staff) and others work place disputes stemming from this major problems, lack of communication between workers and employers. From the local employees’ point of view, this differentiation affected not only worker’s income, but also personal dignity. It was found that inscriptive nature of payment as opposed to skill and merit based wage system, affected work motivation. Low wage infused high employee turnover. The study also found that the employers are worried not only about the low skill of their employees, but also their limited capacity for on-job training to acquire new skills and catch-up with work requirement. Safety requirements were also found to be problematic. Despite the allocation of sufficient personal protective equipment by the employers, lack of awareness pertaining to the use, and misuse of equipments created a problem resulting in the prevalence of work place injuries. Insufficient health insurance and non-adherence to labor laws and conventions pertaining to trade union further exacerbated the problem. Finally, the study revealed that Bole Lemi industrial park suffers from problem related to infrastructure development such as roads, water supply, and electric power blackout. Revised minimum wage set, tripartite plus linkage and commitment of stakes are suggested as a remedy.rnKeywords: Industrial park, working conditions, trade union, industrial dispute,

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