During the Mengistu regime 1 May (Labour Day) was celebrated by hundreds of thousands of citizens in Addis Ababa. At Revolution Square (now Meskel Square) under the banners of the features of Mengistu himself, Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin people turned up for the big parades (or were forced to participate) and included military parades.
Today in Ethiopia 1 May is celebrated peacefully and this year not even a demonstration was hosted. However nearly 3000 trade unionists from the 9 federations of Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) turned up in the Millennium Hall to keep 1 may traditions alive. Secretary General of CETU, Kassahun Follo held the1 May speach of the day highlighting the struggle of the workers of the world and Ethiopian workers in particular. At the height of the Ethiopian Millenium CETU paid particular tribute to the Ethiopian workers' hero Aberra Gamu who was killed in 1963 undet Emperor Haile Selassies regime. Aberra Gamu, an industrial worker and trade union leader in the 1950s, sweared not to wear shoes until Ethiopian workers' rights were properly safeguarded in law and by employers. He never lived to experience this, but challenged the authorities to such an extent that he was killed, shoeless, in 1963. On May Day workers from all over Ethiopia had made contributions to the widow of Abera.
Ethiopian workers have new and other challenges today, highlighted in speaches and comments on May Day. CETU, fighting for the right to organize and decent work standards for its members has chosen to cooperate with Government and the Employers. Thus Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Hassen Abdalla and Secretary General of the Ethiopian Employers Federation Tadele Yemer were both present at the CETU arrangement, testifying to the aim to develop sound workers-employers-government tripartite cooperation in Ethiopia. Other guests were ILO director Alice Ouedrago and ambassador Jens-Petter Kjemprud as representatives of strong supporters of CETU (the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions among CETUs most important sisiter organisations worldwide).