Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 96) - Egypt (Ratification: 1960)

Part II of the Convention. Progressive abolition of fee-charging employment agencies. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in October 2011 containing some indications in relation to previous comments. The Government indicates that the comments formulated by the Committee of Experts were brought to the attention of the national committee set up in 2011 to amend the 2003 Labour Code. The Committee noted in its 2010 direct request that the private sector was authorized to participate in the recruitment of Egyptian workers inside the country. Although directly charging workers for employment services was prohibited, it was possible to deduct 2 per cent of their wages for the first year of employment. The Government indicated that this deduction is considered an administrative fee. Forty-four agencies have been granted permits to recruit Egyptians for work within and outside the country and additionally about 593 agencies existed that were operative and making profits. The Government refers to the provisions of the Labour Code which provide for the requirement to be met by companies asking for a licence for the operation of employing national workers in Egypt or abroad. The duration of the licence is set at five years, which can be renewed. The Committee again draws the Government’s attention to the fact that, like other member States which have ratified Convention No. 96, Egypt has accepted Part II of the Convention, which obliges it to abolish fee-charging employment agencies conducted with a view to profit. The measures opening up the employment placement market to private employment agencies do not give effect to the obligations contained in Part II of Convention No. 96 accepted by Egypt at the time of its ratification in 1954. In this respect, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the organization and working of inspections conducted in the premises of agencies that have been granted permits to recruit Egyptian workers both inside and outside the country and/or in the agencies operating for profit. Please indicate the number of agencies, if any, that have been inspected and if there have been any reports on violations (Part III of the report form). The Committee would also wish to know whether the agencies operating for profit have been granted permits and, if so, the number of times the permits have been renewed.

The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that there are no judicial decisions on the application of the Convention. The Committee recalls that the absence of complaints regarding violations of the provisions of the Labour Code and other relevant legislation does not necessarily indicate an absence of abuses. The absence of complaints often results from the absence of an appropriate legal framework to bring claims, a lack of awareness and understanding among workers as well as law enforcers of the rights when recruited by private recruitment agencies, and an absence of accessible dispute resolution procedures. In Chapter III of the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee noted that, if private employment agencies operate in a particular labour market, this operation has to be regulated. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on the number of private agencies operating in different areas of the labour market and how they are regulated, specifically under the legislation mentioned by the Government. In this context, the Committee recalls that governmental action is required, either directly through a system of legislation, licensing or certification or, indirectly, by authorizing an existing national practice or one that is to be established (General Survey, op. cit., paragraphs 237 et seq.).

Finally, the Committee further notes that an ILO seminar on the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), took place in October 2011. In the discussion on Convention No. 181, the tripartite constituents expressed the view that a more in-depth study on the practices of private employment agencies in Egypt was needed, with a view to reforming any legislative gaps to prevent abusive practices which were acknowledged to be taking place. The Committee recalls that the Government may make use of the Office’s technical assistance in this field. It therefore hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to adhere to the obligations of the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), the ratification of which involves the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 96. It invites the Government to report on steps taken in consultation with the social partners to ratify Convention No. 181.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2013.]