Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Egypt (Ratification: 1954)

The Committee takes note of the observations made by Public Services International (PSI) on behalf of the Center for Trade Union Workers’ Services (CTUWS) received on 1 September 2021 and those of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 6 September 2021 on matters concerning the application of the Convention in law and in practice. The ITUC refers in particular to acts of anti-union discrimination and persecution allegedly suffered by representatives of trade unions established in government departments. While noting the receipt on 24 November 2021 of the Government's comments in Arabic in response to these observations, which it will examine in detail with the Government's next report, the Committee trusts that all measures are being taken to ensure that the persons concerned enjoy the guarantees of the Convention.

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. Adequate protection against anti-union discrimination and interference. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to indicate the legislative provisions which ensure full protection in respect of acts of anti-union discrimination and interference and specifically to indicate the sanctions and remedies provided for this purpose.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that the Trade Union Organizations Law No. 213 of 2017 prohibits employers from taking any measure that impedes the exercise of union activity under penalty of a fine of not less than 5,000 Egyptian pounds and not exceeding 10,000 pounds (approximately US$320 to US$640). Further measures of protection are afforded through procedural safeguards for dismissal or transfer of trade union officers or candidates. Additional penalties are provided if the employer refrains from implementing a final court judgment. As for the draft Labour Code, the Government indicates that numerous methods and mechanisms afford protection for workers, including conciliation, mediation and arbitration, and further refers to the provisions on the establishment of labour courts.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining for public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee recalls that its previous comments concerned the exclusion from the scope of application of the draft Labour Code of the right to collective bargaining of civil servants of state agencies, including civil servants of units under local governments. The Committee notes that the Government refers once again to the Trade Union Organizations Law under which all civil workers have the right to form and join unions and to enjoy all the rights and privileges afforded to such organizations, including collective bargaining and consultation to defend their rights.

The Committee is however obliged to observe once again that the Trade Union Organizations Law does not establish mechanisms and procedures for the engagement in collective bargaining, while the draft Labour Code has entire chapters devoted to collective bargaining, collective agreements and collective disputes. The Committee also recalls that while Act No. 81 on the civil service and its implementing decree created a Civil Service Council with an advisory role as well as human resources committees in each department: (i) these bodies are mainly composed of representatives of the administration and a trade union representative whose appointment is mainly the responsibility of the Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions; and (ii) the law and its decree make no mention of other forms of representation of public service personnel or of collective bargaining mechanisms open to them.

Moreover, the Committee notes the PSI request that civil workers not be excluded from the Labour Law so that they may be able to engage in collective bargaining as set out therein. Recalling that Article 4 of the Convention provides that measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organizations and workers' organizations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreement, the Committee requests the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to take the necessary measures, for example, by revising Act No. 81 or by extending the scope of the Labour Code, to ensure that civil servants not engaged in the administration of the State have an effective framework in which they may engage in collective negotiations over their working and employment conditions through the trade union of their choice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the steps taken in this regard.

Finally, the Committee recalls that it has been raising comments relating to restrictions on collective bargaining rights in the Labour Code No. 12 of 2003 for several years, many of which would appear to be addressed in the draft Labour Code. Noting the Government’s indication that it will send a copy of the new Labour Code as soon as it is adopted, the Committee trusts that the Code will be adopted in the very near future so as to ensure greater conformity with the Convention and requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.