Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

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

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report as well as the entry into force on 30 March 1995 of Act No. 12 of 1995 amending some provisions of the Trade Union Act No. 35 of 1976. The Committee regrets that the new legislation still contains a number of discrepancies with the requirements of the Convention in relation to the obligation to ensure that workers have the right to establish organizations of their own choosing and that workers' organizations have the right to elect their representatives and organize their administration and activities in full freedom.

1. Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee had recalled the need to amend:

(i) those provisions of Act No. 35 of 1976 on trade unions which institutionalized a single trade union system (sections 7, 13, 14, 16, 17, 41 and 52);

(ii) those provisions which enabled the Confederation of Egyptian Trade Unions to control the nomination and election procedures for trade union office (section 41); and

(iii) those provisions which enabled the Confederation to control the financial administration of trade unions (sections 62 and 65).

(i) The Government states in its report that most of the above-mentioned provisions, apart from sections 7 and 13, were amended by Act No. 12 of 1995. The Government states that sections 7 and 13 of Act No. 35 of 1976 were not amended because the trade unions themselves believe that the trade union movement should be organized on a single union and hierarchical basis. The Committee would recall however that Convention No. 87 implies that pluralism should remain possible in all cases. Therefore, the law should not institutionalize a factual monopoly; even in a situation where at some point all workers have preferred to unify the trade union movement, they should still remain free to choose to set up unions outside the established structures should they so wish. Furthermore, the rights of workers who do not wish to join the existing trade unions or central organization should also be protected (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 96). The Committee also notes with regret that the remaining provisions which have been the subject of its comments for many years, namely sections 14, 16, 17 and 41, have not been amended in any meaningful manner by Act No. 12 of 1995, while section 52 has not been amended at all.

The Committee would therefore request the Government to ensure that sections 7, 13 and 52 of Act No. 35 of 1976, as well as sections 14, 16, 17 and 41 of Act No. 12 of 1995, are amended so that all workers will have the right to establish, should they so wish, occupational organizations outside the existing trade union structure, in conformity with Article 2 of the Convention.

(ii) The Committee further notes that the newly enacted sections 41 and 42 of Act No. 12 of 1995 still allow the Confederation of Egyptian Trade Unions to exercise control over the nomination and election procedures for trade union office. The Committee considers that provisions which allow supervision by the administrative authorities or the single trade union central organization of the election procedure, for example by requiring the acceptance or approval of elections or their results, are contrary to the principles of freedom of association (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraph 115). The Committee is of the view that the procedures for nomination and election to trade union office should be fixed by the rules of the organizations not by law in order to bring the legislation into conformity with Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take steps to ensure that sections 41 and 42 of Act No. 12 of 1995 are amended in line with the above comments.

(iii) Furthermore, the Committee notes with regret that sections 62 and 65 of Act No. 35 of 1976 have not been amended very substantially by Act No. 12 of 1995. The new section 62 of Act No. 12 of 1995 still contains the obligation for lower-level unions to allocate a certain percentage of their income to higher-level organizations. Moreover, the newly enacted section 65 stipulates, amongst other things, that "... the Trade Union Confederation shall exercise sole financial supervision of trade union organizations, and, to that end, may seek assistance from the organs of the Ministry of Manpower and Employment". The Committee would once again remind the Government that the above provisions, which specify the proportion of union funds that have to be paid to higher-level organizations and which allow the single central organization expressly designated by the law to exercise financial control, are contrary to Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take appropriate steps to ensure that sections 62 and 65 of Act No. 12 of 1995 are amended so that workers' organizations have the right to organize their administration, including their financial activities, without interference from the public authorities.

2. Articles 3 and 10. The Committee's previous comments referred to the need to repeal or amend sections 93 to 106 of the Labour Code, as amended by Act No. 137 of 6 August 1981, concerning compulsory arbitration at the request of one party outside services which are essential in the strict sense of the term, and section 70(b) of Act No. 35 of 1976 on the Public Prosecutor's authority to ask the criminal courts to remove from office the executive committee of a trade union which has provoked work stoppages or absenteeism in a public service.

The Government states in its report that the Committee's comments have been taken into consideration in the new draft Labour Code. The Committee hopes that any restrictions or prohibitions on the right to strike contained in the draft Labour Code are limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State or to essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety, or health of the whole or part of the population (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraphs 158 and 159). The Committee requests the Government to supply, along with its next report, a copy of the provisions of the new draft Labour Code which repeal or amend sections 93 to 106 of the Labour Code, as amended by Act No. 137 of 6 August 1981, and section 70(b) of Act No. 35 of 1976.

In addition a direct request regarding certain points is being addressed directly to the Government.