ERITREAN EMPLOYMENT ACT. · · .
. It appears that_ this_ legis�a�ion did •�ave t�e effect o. f repealing the provisi©fis ard lab 1ng our re Ac 1 t spe ct1o n, me bot nt h • � hos e � e st blishmg, a .system plo y � m � E . he t 0f and Erit tho rea se for inte nde s d to . ecto r fac1 l1ta te the insp insp ecto rs' k 32, wor . ur b . . . g a syst m- of 1abour 1nspect1on '".lOf of la O establ1•sh1n � Et hiopia repealed all. earlier s w la h 33_ and tb Ject, su? same e is nothi ng, the in these �� 0� laws that would n tio . �sta � spect 1 10. n prov1s1ons from the general- repeal. The law ur lab r1trea � � � � the �a�e . appears respe this ct 111 now . to be the Labour Inspection 10 Eritrea le Iicab . and the Labour Sta11da 1964 rds · of Proclam ation . of 1966, not the rder O ce ;�fvi Act. · 1ent , . Eroployn ean Eritr So far as mini1num labour conclitions are co11cerned, however, it appe·a.rs that n1ploy ment Act re.1nai11 i11 force. There · are two reasons the of 1?parts rtant mpo i No. Notice 302 and the Labour Standards Proclamation both Legal First, this. for any st,1tute or otl1er saving legal· arrangement ns that creates· laboYr provisio in conta · conditions more favot1rable to e111ployees tha11 those of· the legal notice and 'J)ro:.. 34 S0111e provisions <)f tl1e Employn1e11t Act are more- favourable to emplo ion. clamat legislation,· 'and those proyees than the corresponding provisions of the Ethiopian 35 saved bee11 have fron1 eal. Act p re_ the of vjsions , Defining exactly ,:vbicl1 of. tl1e Act's provisions meet thi� ''more favourab16',' standard is not withot1t its diffict1lties, l1owever. First, there is the probl�m of wha� to do ,vjth related provisio11s. To i]lt1strate this problem, we will take a hypotbetical case that presents tl1e proble1n in more extren1e forn1 than do the . act11al · pro I visions of the Act . Suppose that tl1e Employment Act providecl .for a nine-hou.r work day and a fi,,e-day \.Vork \Veek, but that Legal Notice No. 302 provided for an eight-hour work day and a six-day work week. A literal application of the "more favourable'' standard ,vould allow employees i11 Eritrea the · best of each set of provisions: an eight-hour work day from Legal Notice No. 302 and a five-day work week from tl1e Employment Act. In consequence, they would have a forty.. ► hour work week - shorter than that provided by eit/1er law. •
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One strongly st1s1Jects that such a result would ·not 1·e:flect the intention of the draftsmen or legislature. Presun1ably, where provisions are as closely related as thqse fi;ting the number of hours to be ,vorked each day and the number of days to be worked each ,veek, the related provisions m11st be taken together -- either _ the nineh�ur day and the five-day week or the eight-hour day arzd the six-day week. Yet., this p_rinciple cannot be taken too far. E xtended· to the limits of its logic, it · wol1Id leave th.e saving provisions of Legal Notice No. 302 and the Labour Standards Proclamation with virtually no legal effect as tl1ey apply· to tl1e Employment Act. In one importa11t sense every 1ni11im11n1 labo111· · conclition provision within · ea�h -· of _ t�e two systems of law - Ethiopia11 an.d Eritrean - is related to every other. Virtual ly any improven1ent in working conditio11s increases employers' costs· at l east·· ih · the .. .... ·�,· · �--�� .. '. . . '
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·· · : · ·32· Arts. 66-67, Employrrie:n Pkct t . · . : : :; · · 33· 1:he �abot ir Inspection Service Order c ontained no ·explicit repeals pr?visioo ? but· it _ptesu�ably did implicitly repeal a11y ea.rlier legislation estab1is11ing a la�our !nspect! 0? service. � : any ll .·· a eal rep l� l�ctt exp d1d t n at1o cl�m Pro e ve rds nd� Sta eal fawsn , th _ rep � provisio11 of t�e Labol1r p reviousl y 1n force concerning matters provided for 1n the Proclan1at,on. (�¼t. 2) 34. A t. . .. r 10 , L. Not r-Jo . � 02, and Art. 15, Labot1r Stand_ards P�·oclan1ation.. . _ . ons ti1at e1n c1early to �all inro �l11s category IS Art� cle J�� t �� 0e o e fe se 1,•1s1 n f th v, pro _ 35, E01 _ n t a pay . m 1 o · with ut s · 1day l1ol s g1ou en rel1 e ?Ym � Act, allovvir1g employees to tak .. the Psix national holiclays \Vitl1 pay.
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