The Derg “Organizes” Workers

I’ve been spending a lot of time reading through the amazing cache of diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia in the 1970s at Wikileaks. I found this in a cable from January, 1978. As a reminder, the Confederation of Ethiopian Labour Unions was founded in the 1960s, the Derg forced it to disband in 1976, replacing it with the “All Ethiopia Trade Union.” CELU had come under EPRP control; AETU initially was controlled by Meison. It's pretty clear that AETU was not actually an attempt to empower the working class, but to control it. This quick analysis from the US Embassy staff says it all:

3. COMMENT: ALMOST SINCE ITS INCEPTION AETU HAS LIMITED ITS ACTIVITIES, EITHER FORCIBLY OR BY CHOICE, TO POLITICIZATION OF WORKERS AND NON-WAGE DEMANDS. BECAUSE OF THE FLUID POLITICAL SITUATION AMONG THE CIVILIANS, AETU HAS BEEN INDOCTRINATING, AETU HAS MOVED FROM ONE PMAC-SANCTIONED MARXIST-LENINIST FACTION TO ANOTHER WITHOUT MAINTAINING ANY REAL INDEPENDENCE. RATHER THAN BE AN ADVOCATE OF WORKER DEMANDS, AETU HAS BECOME A POLITICAL AND SOMETIMES SECURITY TOOL OF THE PMAC. IT APPEARS THAT PMAC WILL USE AETU TO FILL GAPES IN CADRE FORMATION PROGRAM LEFT SINCE JULY '77 BY DECLINE OF ALL ETHIOPIAN SOCIALIST MOVEMENT (AESM OR ME'I SONE). HOEVER, AETU'S LACK OF TRAINED IDEOLOGUES AND HIGHLY EDUCATED MANAGERS WILL ONLY CONTRIBUTE TO ITS DEPENDNCE ON PMAC FOR ITS CONTINUED SURVIVAL. AS A CIVILIAN ARM OF THE PMAC, ALL AETU LEADERS ARE PROSPECTIVE ASSASSINATION TARGETS. MATHERON (January 13, 1978, source)

Also fascinating is a later cable. A few months later, AETU is reorganized, and another cable details how Meison has been forced out, with a tragically hilarious description of democratic rights.

SUMMARY: ETHIOPIAN TRADE UNION (AETU) "ELECTED" NEW 9-MEMBER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MAY 25 AFTER EMERGENCY MEETING DURING WHICH FORMER AETU LEADERS CONDEMNED AND DISMISSED. CHAGEOVER REPRESENTS FURTHER DECLINE OF CIVILIAN MARXIST-LENINIST GROUP, ALL ETHIOPIAN SOCIALIST MOVEMENT (AESM OR ME'I SONE), OF WHICH RECENTLY DEPARTED NEGEDE GOBEZIE WAS MAJOR FIGURE. SOVIET AND EAST GERMAN (GDR) INVOLVEMENT IS UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME. END SUMMARY. 1. IN CONTINUING EFFORT TO ELIMINATE ALL ETHIOPIAN SOCIALIST MOVEMENT (AESM OR ME'I SONE) FROM CIVILIAN POLITICAL COMPETITION, ON MAY 25 ALL ETHIOPIAN TRADE UNION (AETU) DISMISSED ALL FORMER OFFICE HOLDERS FROM AETU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AFTER 37-HOUR EMERGENCY MEETING AND REPLACED THEM WITH NEW NINE-MEMBER COMMITTEE. AMONG REASONS GIVEN FOR CHANGE WERE CORRUPTION, POLITICAL SABOTAGE, ABUSES OF AUTHORITY, ADVANCEMENT OF SELF-INTEREST, EXERCISE OF DICTATORIAL POWERS AND MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS BY ME'I SONE-AFFILIATED LEADERS OF AETU. NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WAS ELECTED TO MEET CHALLENGE FACING AETU IN ITS ROLE FOR EVENTUAL ESTABLISHMENT OF PROLETARIAN PARTY. 2. AETU STATEMENT ANNOUNCING DISSOLUTION OF FORMER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WAS INTERESTING IN ITS FORTHRIGHT DENOUNCEMENT OF ME'I SONE AS A WHOLE, DROPPING PRETENSE OF ME'I SONE "RIGHT-ROADERS" AS ONLY ANTIREVOLUTIONARIES WITHIN ME'I SONE. SLOGAN PREVIOUSLY PROMULGATED BY ME'I SONE, "DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS FOR THE MASSES, NOW", WAS LABELLED SUBVERSIVE BECAUSE DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED THROUGH STRUGGLE, NOT "DELIVERED ON SILVER PLATTER." AETU WAS ALLEGEDLY UNDER "IRON GRIP OF FEW AMBITIOUS PSEUDO-PROGRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS OPPOSED TO CONCEPT OF UNION OF ETHIOPIAN MARXIST-LENINIST ORGANIZATIONS (UEMLO)." THESE INDIVIDUALS FURTHER IDENTIFIED AS ME'I SONE AND CONDEMNED FOR CHANNELING FUNDS OBTAINED THROUGH AETU TO ME'I SONE GROUP, "WHICH HAD BETRAYED THE REVOLUTION."
(May 26, 1978, source)