A recent labour Ethiopia-Lebanon agreement, aimed at safeguarding the rights of Ethiopian domestic workers, has come under scrutiny for its inadequate provisions and absence of a minimum wage requirement. The bilateral agreement, signed in April but not publicly disclosed, has raised concerns regarding the potential legitimisation of passport confiscation. According to documents obtained by Middle East Eye (MEE), the 12-page draft agreement and an accompanying eight-page worker contract fail to provide adequate legal protection for the hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian workers in Lebanon.
While the agreement received positive coverage in the media of both countries upon its signing, the obtained documents reveal that its effectiveness in safeguarding the rights of workers is questionable. Notably, the agreement does not establish a minimum wage and relies on Lebanese laws that do not extend to migrant workers. This raises concerns over potential abuse and exploitation of Ethiopian workers. Rothna Begum, a senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, highlighted the agreement’s flaws, stating that it lacks minimum salary provisions for domestic workers and predominantly refers to weak and non-existent regulations applicable to other foreign nationals.
Sections of the agreement make reference to Lebanese legislation, asserting that Ethiopian workers would enjoy the same privileges and protections as other foreign workers. However, as Begum pointed out, Lebanon’s labour law excludes domestic workers, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation without adequate legal recourse. Moreover, rather than focusing on preventative measures against abuses, such as training employers on safeguarding workers’ rights, the agreement places the burden of acquiring training and necessary information on the domestic workers themselves.
Lebanon has a history of labour abuses and mistreatment of migrant workers, particularly from developing countries in Asia and Africa. Ethiopian workers, in particular, have faced dire conditions, with reports of deaths due to suicide, accidents, and violence, often uninvestigated by authorities from either country. A study conducted recently revealed that over two-thirds of workers in Lebanon experienced sexual harassment on the job. The kafala system, a sponsorship-based arrangement that regulates the legal status of foreign workers in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries, has been heavily criticised by human rights activists as a form of modern-day slavery.
Ethiopia initially implemented a ban on labour migration to Lebanon in 2008 due to the abuses associated with the kafala system. However, the ban has not been effectively enforced. While Lebanon’s former labour minister expressed regret over the failure to abolish the kafala system in 2020, proposed reforms were hindered by appeals from Lebanese foreign worker recruitment agencies. The lifting of Ethiopia’s 15-year ban on economic migration to Lebanon in April 2023 was accompanied by concerns that the agreement’s wording could legitimize passport confiscation. Lebanese employers often seize workers’ passports to prevent them from escaping, leaving them trapped and unable to leave the country.
Experts have raised additional doubts about the effectiveness of the agreement amid Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis. With a significant portion of the population living below the poverty line, the ability of Lebanese nationals to afford hiring domestic workers has significantly diminished. The severe shortage of foreign currency has resulted in Lebanese civil servants earning meagre salaries of around $50 per month. Furthermore, enforcement of labour laws in Lebanon has historically been weak, with informal side agreements remaining prevalent.
These concerns add to the challenges faced by migrant workers in Lebanon, who have endured multiple crises in recent years, including the economic collapse, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the devastating Beirut port explosion. Scores of African domestic workers were abandoned by their employers in 2020 due to their inability or unwillingness to pay salaries. Ethiopian workers, who were among the lowest paid in the country prior to the crisis, have been particularly affected.
Ethiopia, grappling with its own internal conflicts and economic hardships, is seeking to boost its economy through remittances from migrant workers in the Middle East. However, agreements signed with states criticised for migrant rights abuses, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, have drawn condemnation from rights activists. The lack of transparency surrounding the negotiation process and the absence of public disclosure of signed agreements have raised concerns. The leaked document obtained by MEE provides rare insight into the details of these controversial deals.
The labour agreement between Ethiopia and Lebanon has faced criticism for its lack of protections for Ethiopian domestic workers, including the absence of a minimum wage requirement and potential legitimisation of passport confiscation. The agreement, which relies on Lebanese laws that do not cover migrant workers, has raised concerns over the vulnerability and exploitation of Ethiopian workers in Lebanon.
Image Credit: Josue Isai Ramos Figueroa on Unsplash
