IFTLGWU, which is affiliated with the IndustriALL Global Union, noted that 11 workers were killed and factories were bombed during the war, which ended in November 2022. Sheba Leather Industries was one business destroyed in the conflict.
Millions of jobs were reportedly lost after U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits were withdrawn over a “failure to defend internationally recognised human rights” during the war, while large corporations stopped manufacturing and sourcing in Ethiopia.
Angesom Gebre Yohannes, President of the IFTGLWTU, said: “The suspension of AGOA affected many factories at the Adama, Bole Lemi, Hawassa and Kombolcha industrial parks. In instances, factories that jointly worked on orders that were exported duty free to the U.S. found themselves with no work to do. Hence, we would like the suspension to be lifted to bring back jobs, and investment.”
