A recent bilateral labour agreement signed by Ethiopia and Lebanon contains no minimum salary requirements and offers scant legal protection for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian workers in the country, Middle East Eye can reveal.

The agreement, which was signed in April but never made public, received positive coverage in Lebanese and Ethiopian media at the time. 

Among the main things included in the agreement, a meaningful raise in worker salaries, freedom of movement, annual leave, healthcare and interaction with family, Muferiat Kamil, Ethiopias labour and skills minister, wrote on her Facebook page in April.

But a 12-page draft of the agreement and an accompanying eight-page worker contract, obtained and authenticated by MEE, casts doubt on its effectiveness to protect workers.

The agreement does not include a minimum wage, relies on Lebanese laws which do not apply to migrant workers, and could open the way for passport confiscation.