Ethiopia: Parliament Removes Salary Deduction Clause From Disaster Risk Bill Citing ‘Overlapping Burden On Workers’ – Approves Proclamation Unanimously

Addis Abeba– The House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR) on Thursday unanimously approved the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Proclamation after removing a controversial provision that proposed salary deductions from government and private employees, state media reported.

The Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and Peace Affairs, which presented the report and proposed decision to the House during its 34th regular session, said the clause mandating salary-based contributions was withdrawn following “discussion and consensus.”

Specifically, Article 29, sub-article (1), which stipulated deductions from employees’ net income, was removed on the grounds that such a measure would “cause overlapping expenditure burden on workers.”

The proclamation was subsequently passed as Proclamation No. 1386/2017, following the House’s review of the committee’s report.

PThe draft proclamation, first introduced to parliament on 18 March, proposed the establishment of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission as an autonomous federal agency. As outlined in the explanatory notes reviewed by Addis Standard, the proclamation aimed to create a “comprehensive legal framework” for disaster risk reduction, response, and recovery. A key provision in the draft had called for employees to make monthly contributions from their net salaries to a newly established Ethiopian Disaster Risk Response Fund.

The proposed financial model extended beyond salaries. It called on banks, insurance companies, and digital financial service providers to contribute through service fees. Other funding sources outlined in the draft included revenues from airline ticket sales, telecom services, fuel suppliers, passport and visa services, as well as contributions from federal and municipal budgets and the sale of goods such as tobacco and alcohol.

Tesfaye Beljige (PhD), chief government whip in parliament, said at the time that the legislation was intended to “enhance the capacity of federal and regional institutions to effectively manage disasters” before, during, and after their occurrence.

However, concerns were raised by MPs regarding the financial pressure on fixed-income earners, particularly civil servants.

The Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) had also previously urged the government to “reconsider additional deductions” from workers’ wages, warning that such measures would “further burden their livelihoods” at a time when many are “struggling to support themselves and their families” amid rising living costs and low wages.