Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Egypt (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee takes note of the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 1 September 2019 in relation to the application of the Convention in law and in practice.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 108th Session, June 2019)

The Committee notes the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2019 concerning the application of the Convention. The Conference Committee noted that despite the adoption of the Trade Union Law and Ministerial Decree No. 35, a number of long-standing discrepancies between the national legislation and the provisions of the Convention continued to persist. The Conference Committee expressed concern over the persistence of restrictions on the right of workers to join and establish trade union organizations, federations and confederations of their own choosing and ongoing government interference in the trade union elections and activities. The Committee observes that the Conference Committee called upon the Government to: (i) ensure that there are no obstacles to the registration of trade unions, in law and practice, in conformity with the Convention; (ii) act expeditiously to process pending applications for trade union registration; (iii) ensure that all trade unions are able to exercise their activities and elect their officers in full freedom, in law and in practice, in accordance with the Convention. It further called upon the Government (iv) to amend the Trade Union Law to ensure that: the level of minimum membership required at the enterprise level, as well as for those forming general unions and confederations, does not impede the right of workers to form and join free and independent trade union organizations of their own choosing; and that workers are not penalized with imprisonment for exercising their rights under the Convention; and (v) to transmit copies of the draft Labour Code to the Committee of Experts before its session in November 2019. Finally, the Conference Committee invited the Government to accept ILO technical assistance to assist in implementing these recommendations and urged it to submit a report on progress made to the Committee of Experts before its November 2019 session. The Committee further notes that following the adoption of the conclusions, the Government indicated that it was working on solving the problems of the trade union organizations that wish to regulate their status by providing them technical support and has requested the participation of the ILO Office in Cairo in this process.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. Application in law and in practice. The Committee recalls from its previous comments the Government’s indication that the philosophy of the new Trade Union Law was based on the consolidation of the principle of free establishment of trade union organizations and federations, as well as the guarantee of their democracy and stability. The Committee had observed, however, numerous concerns expressed about the application of the law and had emphasized that, in the context of a long-entrenched system of legislatively imposed trade union monopoly, it was critical that all trade unions be given an equal chance to be registered under the new Trade Union Law. The Committee urged the Government to ensure that all trade unions existing at the time of the adoption of the Law on trade union organizations are able to function freely and carry out their activities without interference pending their regularization under the Law and to ensure that workers wishing to change their trade union membership may do so without detriment to their acquired rights relating to contributory provident funds, which otherwise might hinder the workers’ freedom to choose the organization with which they wish to affiliate.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that the Minister of Manpower created a legal and technical committee reporting directly to him mandated with examining all problems facing union organizations that had failed to regularize and offer technical support required. In this respect, the Minister of Manpower held a meeting with affected organizations on 14 July 2019 and decided that each organization unable to regularize would submit an individual report on their status and the supporting documents for their registration. By the end of August 2019, 13 union organizations had submitted documents. The ministerial committee examined the submissions and informed the organizations of some legal and procedural restrictions on 27 August 2019. The Government adds that 11 new union committees (only ten different names were provided by the Government: Quality assurance in Giza, Water resources in Assiout, Transport in Al-Sharkey, Farag Allah Company, Pasta company in El Sadat, Transport in El Beheira, Transport in El Menoufeya, Transport in El Fayoum, Construction in Qena, Occupational Committee for street vendors in Qena) were created during the months of July and August and one new general union was formed bringing the number of such unions established according to the 2011 Ministerial Declaration on Freedom of Association to five general unions including two that are not members of a higher union federation. The Committee further notes the Government’s communication of 19 November indicating that, following an ILO multidisciplinary mission of the same month, the ministerial committee reviewed registration papers submitted by 11 new trade union committees and was finalizing the procedures so that they can receive certificates of legal personality. The Government refers in particular to: Trade Union Committees of Workers in Real Estate Tax in Kafr Al Sheikh, Giza and Beni Sewaif; Trade Union Committee of Workers in the Water and Sanitation Company in Qena; Trade Union Committee of Sanitation Workers in Gharbeya; Trade Union Committee of Representatives of associations and private institutions; Trade Union Committee of Workers in Hunting in Giza; Trade Union Committee of Workers in Transportation and Transport in Giza; Trade Union Committee of Workers in Cement in Suez; Trade Union Committee for Workers in Transportation and Transport in Damietta; Trade Union Committee for Workers in Telecommunications in Qena.

In light of the numerous communications it had received last year concerning obstacles to trade union registration in practice, the Committee notes with interest the efforts made by the Government to engage with unions requesting registration and to assist them in the completion of this process so that they may be registered without further delay. Given the challenges to registration that were described by these organizations, the Committee expresses the firm expectation that the Government will review the documents which they had originally submitted and not require renewal of all processes, general assemblies, etc., after the considerable delay that these organizations have already experienced and which would amount to compelling them to engage in a re-registration process. It trusts that all registration requests will now be handled in accordance with the 2019 amendments and that these organizations will receive the necessary certificates of legal personality without delay so that they will be able to exercise their activities fully, in accordance with the Convention. The Committee welcomes in this regard the Government’s commitment to a technical cooperation programme with the ILO to further accompany this process, which it trusts will engage with the social partners and provide training, where necessary to workers on the procedures for registration. It expresses the firm expectation that this programme will create the space for full freedom of association in Egypt to the benefit of all parties.

Minimum membership requirements. In its previous comment in 2018, the Committee requested the Government to lower the minimum membership requirement for forming a trade union at enterprise level, set at 150 workers in Trade Union Law No. 213, so as to ensure the rights of workers to form and join the organization of their own choosing. It further requested the lowering of the minimum membership requirement for forming general unions and confederations (set at 15 enterprise unions and 20,000 workers and ten general trade unions and 200,000 workers, respectively). The Committee notes with interest the adoption on 5 August 2019 of Law No. 142 lowering the minimum membership requirement to 50 workers for the formation of a trade union committee at enterprise level, to ten union committees and 15,000 members for a general union and to seven general unions and 150,000 members for the establishment of a trade union federation (that is, a confederation). The Committee expresses the firm expectation that these changes, coupled with a robust technical cooperation programme, will facilitate the formation of trade unions at all levels and contribute to harmonious industrial relations in the country. Recalling that the minimum membership requirement should be fixed in a reasonable manner so that the establishment of organizations is not hindered in respect of all levels of formation (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 89), the Committee requests the Government to continue to review these requirements with the social partners concerned so as to ensure that all workers are able to form and join the organizations of their own choosing and that their organizations can establish and join federations and confederations freely.

As regards the effective application of the Trade Union Law, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that the administrative agency must produce a report on the submission of registration documents and submit a copy to the representative of the union organization, along with official letters for the opening of a bank account, for the approval of the stamps and seals and for the publication of the union statutes. Under section 19 of the Trade Union Law, moreover, the competent administrative agency must inform the legal representative of the union organization by letter within 30 days of the date of filing if it finds the documents are invalid or incomplete. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the number of trade union registration applications received, the number of registrations granted, the reasons for any refusals to grant, and the average time taken from filing to registration.

Finally, the Committee notes with interest the Government’s reply to its previous comments that there is no ban on workers to join more than one organization in the case of having multiple professions – regardless of the level of the union organization according to the professional union classification.

Article 3. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their administration without interference and to enjoy the benefits of international affiliation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with regret that the Trade Union Law penalized various contraventions with imprisonment and requested the Government to keep these provisions under review. The Committee notes with interest that Law No. 142 has amended sections 67, 68 and 76 so as to eliminate all references to imprisonment and establishing uniquely the payment of a fine. Observing that some of these sections, such as section 67, concern contraventions that are broadly worded and could give rise to penalties for simply being in the act of forming an organization and engaging in activity prior to registration, the Committee requests the Government to keep the application of these provisions under review and to inform the Committee of any penalties imposed and the reasons for such penalties.

The Committee also observes that the Trade Union Law sets out certain specific conditions for trade union office (section 41.1 and 41.4) which it considers interfere with the right of workers’ organizations to elect their representatives in full freedom. The Committee has considered in this regard that requirements that candidates for trade union should be able to read and write is incompatible with the Convention and (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 104), as is the requirement for a basic education degree, and further considers that matters related to military service should be addressed in other pieces of legislation rather than relating to trade union office. The Committee requests the Government to review these requirements with the social partners concerned with a view to bringing them into conformity with the Convention.

Labour Code. The Committee takes note of the draft Labour Code recently transmitted by the Government and which is currently being debated in the Manpower Committee of the Parliament. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Committee’s previous comments that the right to strike is not absolute and may be limited or even prohibited. The Government refers in particular to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State, essential services and acute national crisis. It adds that a strike is not an end in itself but a means to achieve the legitimate objectives of workers. Determining the duration of a strike is a manner of regulation and not a restriction, which is evidenced by the fact that the Code does not establish a maximum period. The strike may be extended or renewed for similar periods thereafter thus protecting the objective behind the strike as a legitimate means of pressure. As regards the prohibition of industrial action in vital or strategic enterprises where stoppage of work would compromise national security or basic services to be designated in a decree by the Prime Minister (section 203), the Government indicates that this is not an absolute ban but will be decided by the Prime Minister with rules and regulations governing the matter. As regards arbitration, the Government states that all provisions now refer only to arbitration that has been agreed by both parties. The Committee welcomes the Government’s statement that all provisions of the draft Labour Code will continue to be reviewed and that the Committee’s comments will be presented to the Parliament. In this regard, the Committee expresses the firm expectation that the Government will ensure that the Labour Code, once adopted, fully assures respect for the right to strike and recalls that restrictions to this right should be limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State, essential services in the strict sense of the term and situations of acute national crisis.

The Committee further draws the Government’s attention to the need to eliminate any mention of a specific workers’ or employers’ organization so as to avoid favouring a monopoly situation in the law. In this regard, while noting that most of the tripartite bodies envisaged in the draft Labour Code refer to representation of the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations, the Committee observes that section 78 of the draft names the Egyptian Trade Union Federation as the representative of workers on the wages commissions. The Committee urges the Government to ensure throughout the Code that the term “most representative organization(s)” be substituted in any case of reference to a specific organization. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any further developments in relation to the draft Code and to transmit a copy as soon as it has been adopted, as well as relevant regulations that may have been issued thereunder.

As regards the work on a Law regulating domestic work, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is still preparing the new draft in coordination with competent agencies, such as the National Council for Women, the National Coordinating Committee on Combatting Illegal Migration (NCCIMP), the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood, workers’ organizations, employers’ organizations, owners of private houses, and civil society organizations. The Government states that it will provide the draft law upon finalization. In the meantime, it indicates that the provisions of the Civil Code, particularly as regards employment contracts, and those of the Trade Union Law apply to domestic workers so that they may establish trade unions to defend their interests. Moreover, the Government adopted a model employment contract for domestic workers and has held awareness-raising sessions in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the model employment contract, and of the law regulating domestic work as soon as it is adopted.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2020.]