የፌደራል ጠቅላይ ፍ/ቤት ሰበር ሰሚ ችሎት በመ/ቁ 57337 በሰኔ 15/2003 እና በመ/ቁ 35621 በጥቅምት 11/2001 በሰጠው ፍርድ ላይ የቀረበ ምልከታ፤ የስራ ውል ቆይታ በፕሮጀክት ሥራ ላይ

Abstract

One of the controversies in the interpretation of labour law is the
determination of the duration in contract of employment. The Ethiopian
labour law seemingly adopts the presumption of ‘indefinite period’ of
engagement for all labour contracts. The burden is then on the employer to
prove otherwise i.e. recruitments for definite period or piece work. This
case comment drills on the effect of phaseout of project works on labour
contract attached to it. The Federal Supreme Court Cassation Division
passed precedence ruling that labour contracts would terminate resulting
dismissal of employees where a project work phases out on its File No.
57337 rendered on June 15/2003 (Ethiopian Calendar) and File No. 35621
October 11/2001 (Ethiopian Calendar). The comment is made on these files
claiming that the employer must be compelled to prove its endeavors
exhausting all possibilities and failure to transfer the employee to another
post or projects even if the specific project the employee recruited for ends.
The author argues that the very purpose of the ‘presumption of indefinite
period engagement’, i.e. job security, should be given effect. More
importantly, employers shall not be given discretion to abuse their right to
recruit for ‘definite period’ under the guise of project work refuting the
protective purpose of the labour law.