Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

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

The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Previously, the Committee had raised a number of points concerning the right of workers to join organizations of their own choosing and the right to strike (Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention). In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not substantively reply to these matters; it trusts that the Government, in its next report, would provide full information in respect of the points previously raised, which are as follows:

–      Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to amend section 19(f) of the Trade Union Act, No. 35 of 1976, as amended by Act No. 12 of 1995, so that all workers are able to join more than one organization, if they so wish, in order to be able to defend their occupational interests in cases where they are engaged in more than one occupation.

–      Article 3. The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Labour Code (public servants in state agencies, including local public administrations and public authorities; domestic and similar workers; and workers who are members of the employer’s family and dependent upon the latter) enjoy the right to strike.

–      The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 192 of the Labour Code so as to ensure that there is no legal obligation for workers’ organizations to specify the duration of a strike.

–      The Committee requests the Government to amend section 69(9) of the Labour Code to ensure that workers who have participated in legitimate strike action are not penalized on the grounds that the strike notice does not specify the duration of the strike.

Recalling that it has been commenting upon the legislative matters above for several years, the Committee expresses the hope that the Government would be in a position to indicate the progress made in respect of these amendments in its next report, and reminds the Government that the technical assistance of the Office is available with respect to the drafting of legislation.