Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

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

The Committee takes note of the new Labour Code No. 12 of 2003 and would like to raise the following issues with the Government.

Article 2 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee notes that neither the Labour Code nor the Trade Union Act prohibit or impose penalties against acts of interference by employers or their organizations into the functioning and administration of workers’ organizations and vice versa, and in particular against acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination of employers or employers’ organizations or to support workers’ organizations by financial or other means. The Committee recalls that the legislation should make express provision for rapid appeal procedures, coupled with effective and dissuasive sanctions against acts of interference in order to ensure the application in practice of Article 2 (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 232). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to that effect.

Article 4. Voluntary negotiations. The Committee notes that, under section 148 of the Labour Code, if one party refuses to begin the collective negotiation, the other party may request the competent administrative authority to set in motion the negotiation procedures by notifying another employers’ or workers’ organization; the latter will carry out the negotiations and sign the agreement on behalf of the party which refused to enter into negotiation. The Committee notes in addition that, under section 153, in order to be valid any collective agreement should be submitted to the board of the general trade union or the Confederation of Trade Unions. Noting that these two provisions in fact enable higher level organizations to interfere in the negotiation process conducted by lower level organizations, the Committee considers that such interference is incompatible with the autonomy of the bargaining partners and thus the principle of free and voluntary negotiation of collective agreements. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to repeal sections 148 and 153.

The Committee notes that in case of a dispute concerning the renewal of a collective agreement (section 156) or its modification due to exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances rendering the implementation of the collective agreement too difficult for one of the parties (section 163), one party may request a mediation and, in case of failure, compulsory arbitration resulting in a binding award (sections 179 and 187). The Committee would like to underline that compulsory arbitration imposed by the authorities at the request of one party and resulting in a binding award for both parties, is generally contrary to the principle of voluntary negotiation of collective agreements established in the Convention. The Committee requests therefore the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the Labour Code in order to enable the parties to have recourse to arbitration by mutual agreement. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.

Article 6. Scope of the Convention. The Committee notes that, under section 4 of the Labour Code, domestic workers and workers who are members of the employer’s family and supported by the latter are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code. Since, under Article 6, public servants engaged in the administration of the State are the only workers excluded from the scope of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to specify the manner in which domestic workers and workers who are members of the family of the employer enjoy the guarantees afforded by the Convention, including the right to collective bargaining.