Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2017, Publication: 106th ILC session (2017)

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



A Government representative assured the Committee that his Government fully respected its obligations under all the Conventions it had ratified, including the Convention under examination, ratified in 1957. Based on its belief in the importance of trade union freedom for the realization of social peace and stability, as well as balanced labour relations, the Ministry of Manpower had issued a statement on the establishment of trade union freedoms, according legal personality to trade unions and providing for the receipt and deposition of their founding documents. Thus, 1,800 trade unions had been established at the enterprise level, in addition to 63 general trade unions and 24 trade union federations, which did not belong to the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF). These trade union organizations played their role in defending the rights and interests of their members, engaging in collective bargaining and concluding collective agreements, which had been registered and deposited at the Ministry. However, judicial decisions issued by administrative judges and the ordinary judiciary, as well as decisions by the Council of State, had not recognized the statement of the Minister of Manpower, as a ministerial decision could not override the Trade Unions Act No. 35 of 1976, which only recognized trade union organizations established in accordance with its provisions. Furthermore, the Civil Code, which provided the general legal framework for all labour legislation, did not recognize legal personality other than that established by law, and not by ministerial decision. Therefore, and in spite of the upheavals since 2011, the Government, since June 2013, had been fully determined to improve and correct the state of affairs, including with regard to trade union organizations, and it had thus taken measures to issue a law in this regard. The President himself had urged the House of Representatives to expedite the issuance of labour legislation, including the draft Labour Code and the draft law on trade union organizations, which would abrogate the current Trade Unions Act No. 35 of 1976, and thus also annul the judicial decisions referred to above. Although the protection of trade union freedoms was already enshrined in the Constitution of 2014, the new law had been drafted in an explicit manner, using the terms of “trade unions and federations” and not “the federation” as in the current law. The new law was to be considered complementary to the Constitution, as it undoubtedly granted additional protections and guarantees, while the Constitution itself was inspired by the international human rights treaties and Conventions which Egypt had ratified, including Convention No. 87. Article 76 of the Constitution thus provided that the establishment of trade unions and federations on the basis of democratic principles was a right guaranteed by law, and that they would possess legal personality, freely conduct their activities, contribute to enhancing the skills of their members, defend their rights and protect their interests. It further provided that the State guaranteed the independence of trade unions and federations, whose governing bodies could not be dissolved other than by a court judgment. Based on these constitutional provisions and the international Conventions ratified by Egypt, the Government had prepared a draft law, with due consideration to all the comments of the Committee of Experts and the ILO on the current Trade Unions Act. The Ministry had finalized the draft law on 24 April 2016, submitting it to the Council of Ministers which had in turn, approved it and passed it to the Council of State for its review. A copy of the draft law had been sent to the Director-General of the ILO to obtain the ILO’s views on its sections. Comments received from the ILO had partly been integrated in the text of the law during its discussion by the Council of State, while responses had been provided on other comments. In April 2017, while the draft law was pending before the House of Representatives, the ILO had transmitted a second set of comments after having received the final version of the draft law. The Government had then invited a delegation of experts from the ILO International Labour Standards Department, which had visited Cairo in May 2017. An open discussion had thus been held on the technical comments, and agreement had been reached on the amendment of some sections of the law, which demonstrated Egypt’s seriousness and its eagerness to move forward.

Still, in May 2017, the President of Egypt had urged the House of Representatives to pass the pending labour legislation. Subsequently, the Labour Committee of the House of Representatives had finalized the draft Labour Code on 28 May 2017, while it had commenced its discussion of the draft law on trade union organizations on 23 May 2017, in preparation for its submission to the plenary session of Parliament for adoption. The draft law on trade union organizations enshrined the principle of freedom of association for trade unions and federations, while guaranteeing their democratic nature and independence. In particular, it enshrined the freedom of workers to establish trade union organizations, and to join such organizations or to withdraw from them. The bill renounced the notion of the existence of a single trade union federation. It also provided explicitly that public authorities were to refrain from any interference that would restrict or impair the legitimate exercise of these rights. Furthermore, the draft law prohibited the dissolution of trade unions or their governing bodies, or the halting of their activities, by the administrative authorities or the competent Ministry. It also provided that trade unions, regardless of their level, should acquire legal personality, and abolished the unified hierarchical structure. With regard to some specific sections of the draft law on trade union organizations, he explained that sections 1, 4 and 13 provided for the possibility to establish more than one federation, ensuring trade union plurality, and the freedom to join any trade union or federation. Sections 14, 16 and 17 provided for the annulment of the provisions on a unified structure. Moreover, the draft law would make it possible for a trade union organization to formulate its own by-laws which regulates its relationship with a higher organization if it wished to join it. Sections 59, 60, 61 and 65 allowed trade union federations to draw up their own financial regulations. After submission of the draft law on trade union organizations to the House of Representatives, and following discussion with the ILO concerning the Committee of Experts comments on the Trade Unions Act, and the two sets of comments transmitted by the ILO on the bill, agreement had been reached. Already before the Conference, and during the meeting with ILO representatives in Cairo, the tendency had been to involve the representatives of independent trade unions in social dialogue on the draft law in the Ministry of Manpower or the Labour Committee of the House of Representatives. Moreover, the presidents of the Egyptian trade union federations (the ETUF, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions and the Democratic Union of Egyptian Workers) had signed a joint document with the heads of the employers’ organizations in Egypt, in which they identified the provisions agreed upon in the draft law and affirmed their full faith in the principle of freedom of association as the basic element for the stability of labour relations in Egypt. In conclusion, he emphasized that: (i) the draft law on trade union organizations had passed through several stages, all with the consensus of the social partners and in full and continuous coordination with the ILO, in all transparency and clarity to ensure its compatibility with international labour standards; (ii) the most important reason behind the delay in its adoption was the absence of an Egyptian Parliament until the beginning of 2016, and the fact that the bill, being complementary to the Constitution, could not be issued by decree; and (iii) the Ministry had not frozen the activities or bank accounts of independent trade unions, since it considered it important to give them an opportunity to adjust their conditions and enter the umbrella of the new law. The new trade unions continued to freely conduct their activities, defend the rights of workers, engage in collective bargaining and conclude collective agreements. Finally, he questioned the basis and criteria applied for the inclusion of Egypt in the list of individual cases, while reconfirming the Government’s seriousness and eagerness to realize social justice for workers, which was not possible without freedom of association, to which the Government was committed through its Constitution and the international Conventions it had ratified. Thus, he reaffirmed that the ongoing cooperation with the ILO had contributed to achieving the progress made in a very short time frame, and that the Government would continue on this path, in accordance with the Egyptian Constitution and ratified international Conventions.

The Employer members welcomed the information provided and appreciated the recent engagement of the Government with the social partners and the ILO as well as its stated intention to respect the commitment to ensure compliance with the Convention. The Committee of Experts had repeatedly commented on the Labour Code No. 12 of 2003 and had noted the formulation of a new draft Labour Code and the social dialogue taking place in this regard with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Employer members recalled their disagreement with the comments of the Committee of Experts on Convention No. 87 and the right to strike. They also recalled the Government group’s statement of March 2015 according to which “the scope and conditions of this right are regulated at the national level”. The Employer members, highlighting their views on the subject matter, emphasized that industrial action could be regulated at the national level by the Government taking into account national circumstances. Furthermore, the Employer members made reference to the observation of the Committee of Experts that the final draft law on trade union organizations was expected to be finalized soon to replace the Trade Unions Act. Emphasizing that the discussions on the bill had been ongoing since 2011, the Committee of Experts had reiterated its comments on the Trade Unions Act, in particular concerning the single trade union system, the control exercised by the ETUF over other trade unions and the prohibition to join more than one trade union. The Employer members noted with interest the steps taken to date by the Government, in particular the completion of the draft law on trade union organizations in April 2016 in a process of social dialogue with the involvement of workers’ and employers’ organizations. In August 2016, the Government had received technical comments on the bill from the ILO, which had been discussed by the Council of State and had entailed certain amendments. In April 2017, a second version of the bill had been submitted to the ILO and a mission had been accepted in May 2017 to discuss the ILO’s additional technical comments. In July 2017, the bill would be presented to the stakeholders in a process of social dialogue and would be submitted to Parliament in October 2017. The Employer members felt encouraged by the concrete steps taken by the Government, which illustrated its commitment to compliance with the Convention. They urged the Government to continue bringing the discussion forward so as to demonstrate the tangible results of its efforts, and invited it to continue working with the ILO in cooperation with the social partners so as to ensure that the draft legislation was in line with the express requirements of the Convention. The Government should provide updated information on all the measures taken in time for its examination by the Committee of Experts.

The Worker members emphasized that the commitments made by the Government to the Committee in 2013 concerning respect for freedom of association had not been given effect. It was true that the country had undergone a change of regime since then, but that could not justify the inertia for the past four years, with trade unionists having to wait so long for their country to be in conformity with its international commitments to guarantee freedom of association. This was aggravated by an unfavourable general situation, as the country had once again been in a state of emergency since 9 April, with important consequences for civil liberties. In addition, a new Act had been adopted on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which contained provisions drastically tightening up the procedures for their establishment and imposed very serious penalties for violations of the law. Certain statements by the Government gave grounds for fearing that the principles of that Act would also be applied to trade unions. Several circulars intended to limit the freedom of action of independent trade unions had also been issued. Moreover, the Committee of Experts indicated in its report that it had received several allegations concerning the arrest and harassment of trade unionists. As it recalled in paragraph 59 of its 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, which also referred to the 1970 Resolution concerning trade union rights and their relation to civil liberties, in the absence of a democratic system in which fundamental rights and civil liberties were respected, freedom of association could not be fully developed. For the existence of genuine freedom of association, it was essential for the following rights to be established: (i) the right to freedom and security of person and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention; (ii) freedom of opinion and expression, and in particular freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers; (iii) freedom of assembly; (iv) the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal; and (v) the right to protection of the property of trade union organizations. The ILO supervisory bodies unceasingly recalled the interdependence between public liberties and trade union rights, emphasizing that the concept of a truly free and independent trade union movement could only develop in a climate free from violence, pressure and threats of any kind against the leaders and members of such organizations. The Worker members called on the Government to take all the necessary measures to guarantee all the aspects of freedom of association outlined above.

With regard to the legislative issues, the draft law on trade unions was being drawn up and would soon be adopted. An ILO mission had recently visited the country to provide technical views on the draft law and to discuss freedom of association in more general terms. It was necessary to be particularly vigilant concerning the following points: (i) the draft law contained, in section 2, a provision placing the ETUF, the only trade union that was currently really recognized, in a more favourable position than other trade unions. The ETUF would maintain its legal personality under the new law and would only have to comply with certain additional measures, while independent trade unions would have to follow new procedures to obtain legal personality. To prevent this difference of treatment between trade unions, the only solution was for independent trade unions to be recognized as of now; (ii) apart from the exceptions set out in Article 9 of the Convention, the new law must not contain provisions which constituted in practice a prohibition for certain workers to join unions, for example on the grounds of their nationality or political views. The same applied to the right to join several unions; (iii) it should also be ensured that the new law did not contain any section that might impair the organization of the administration and activities of trade unions, contrary to the current provisions of the draft law, which set out measures for the control of their financial management by the trade union confederation. The introduction of the systematic financial control of their accounts by the public authorities, even through such a body as “a confederation of trade unions” or the Court of Accounts, was a violation of the Convention; (iv) finally, the new law would need to guarantee trade unions the right to draw up their by-laws and administrative rules, without any interference from the public authorities. This right was set out in Article 3 of the Convention and prevented the authorities from imposing requirements that went beyond generally admitted formal conditions, such as the need to comply with democratic principles and the establishment of a right of appeal for members. These various elements were covered by the observations in the report of the Committee of Experts. In any case, it would be useful for the comments made by the Office in the context of its technical assistance to be attached to the draft law when it was examined by Parliament, so that they could be taken into account. The ministerial circulars referred to above limited the freedom of action of independent trade unions. They prohibited dealings with these unions and also denied them the possibility of receiving dues from their members. This was a clear illustration of the ambiguity that reigned in the Egyptian Government. On the one hand, it stated that it wished to be in compliance with the Convention, and on the other hand, it was taking measures that were in breach of the instrument. Until the new law entered into force, independent trade unions would continue to be afflicted by these measures. The Government needed to bring an end to this situation without further ado, as the new law would only be implemented in several months’ time. It was urgent to allow independent trade unions to be able to exercise their rights in full freedom. History taught that institutions could only achieve stability when they were founded on justice and respect for human dignity.

The Employer member of Egypt indicated that he did not share the view expressed by the Worker members. Egypt enjoyed social stability and peace, and there was good cooperation between the Government and the social partners. An agreement had been signed with the social partners and had been submitted to the ILO for comments. Freedom of association should not necessarily mean a proliferation of trade unions, which would inevitably lead to conflicts. There were 1000 trade unions and 26 federations with 5 million members in the country. Freedom of association should be guaranteed, but on a clear and well-regulated basis, in order to ensure that trade unions were representative. The draft law on trade union organizations guaranteed freedom of association for workers as well as for employers. The country was adopting new legislation after a period when Parliament did not exist. Parliament had started to function again in 2016, and this legislation could not be adopted by presidential decree. Egypt had ratified the ILO’s core Conventions and the Government ensured their compliance. The Constitution of Egypt guaranteed the right to freedom of association and tripartism, and the Government did not interfere with independent unions. The Constitution also protected the right to strike. Steps had to be taken before strike action, but if they were followed, they were the only conditions to be met prior to a strike. While expressing his respect for the work of the Committee of Experts, he considered that it sometimes exceeded its mandate when addressing the right to strike and other issues under the Convention. The Committee of Experts needed to focus on the application of the Convention. More information and facts could also be brought to the attention of the Conference Committee. In his view, the Worker members had referred to facts that were inaccurate. Lastly, when a country was selected in the shortlist, it generated reaction in society. The Committee needed to take into consideration the political and economic situation of the countries concerned, and to define clear criteria for the selection of cases. A possibility would be to hear the Employer and Worker members from the country concerned before the adoption of the list.

The Worker member of Egypt denied that the state of emergency impacted on trade unions. It had been adopted to protect citizens, as innocent persons had been murdered. He confirmed the engagement of the social partners in tripartite dialogue, as reported by the Government. The delays in the elaboration of the draft law on trade union organizations and its adoption had been due to political, social and economic difficulties since June 2013. The Committee was asked to show understanding of the circumstances of the country. A new President and a new Parliament had been elected. Numerous draft laws had been submitted to the new Parliament. On 23 May 2017, a dialogue between the ETUF and the independent unions had been initiated and had led to the signature of a joint declaration that approved the draft law on trade union organizations. The Government and the employers had been informed of the joint declaration. The ETUF had taken the initiative to negotiate with all trade unions, since the draft law on trade union organizations constituted a major challenge for workers. The ETUF had submitted to the Government a number of modifications to the draft law that had been accepted. The Government had sent the draft law to Parliament, where it was under discussion and would be on the agenda this year. This draft law was consensual and constituted a new era for industrial relations in the country. It was time to revive the trade unions, in the context of the numerous legislative reforms that required harmonization. Egyptian unions wanted to train leaders to face this challenge and change from an old system to a new and modern one that would take into account the changes in labour relations. The workers of Egypt wanted to launch a new movement, and elections would take place to establish a new trade union. A memorandum of understanding had been signed between the ETUF, the independent unions and the federation of employers. This agreement benefited the country as a whole, the workers and the employers of Egypt. The draft law had been discussed by the three relevant stakeholders, and workers in Egypt were determined to watch over the adoption of a law that would protect freedom of association, in line with the Convention, and the Constitution of Egypt. He called on the Committee to take into account in its conclusions the efforts made by the Government, and in particular the tripartite discussions that had been conducted. The Committee was also called upon to note that the draft Labour Code addressed the question of the right to strike, an issue that should not be regulated by the legislation on trade unions. The country had experienced obstacles, but the situation had improved politically, economically and socially.

The Government member of Switzerland regretted that the Government had not given effect to the repeated requests to bring the Trade Unions Act into conformity with the Convention and emphasized the importance of trade union independence and diversity. Trade union plurality ensured representation of all tendencies. She hoped that the Government would bring an end to discrimination against trade unions and encouraged it to amend the Labour Code, in collaboration with the social partners, to give effect to the comments of the Committee of Experts. She added that it must be possible to engage in collective bargaining at all levels and reiterated her hope that the Government would quickly bring the Trade Unions Act into conformity with the Convention.

An observer representing the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) expressed concern at the draft law on trade union organizations proposed by the Government, which repressed freedom of association and violated several provisions of the Convention. Although the information provided by the Government was a step forward, the fundamental problem remained unaddressed. The draft law imposed a model of trade unionism which replicated the current model. Particularly, section 13 provided for three types of trade union organizations: trade union committees, general unions, and national federations. The draft law also imposed conditions with regard to the number of council members, membership requirements, election rules and procedures, as well as the objectives and activities of the unions. Moreover, the draft law differentiated between the ETUF and other unions. While ETUF retained its recognized legal personality, the latter would need to be re-registered, in violation of Articles 2 and 11 of the Convention. The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt and an Administrative Court had recognized the right to freedom of association as a constitutional right, which entailed the right for unions to establish their own constitutions and the prohibition of interference by the Government or its administrative bodies. Instead of complying with the rulings of the courts, the Government had relied on the Advisory Opinion of the Council of State of 21 December 2016, which had instructed the Ministry of Manpower and Migration not to register independent trade union organizations and had been widely used to attack independent trade unions. In particular, several unions had been instructed by employers and the authorities to stop their activities and vacate their premises, and could no longer collect the monthly contributions of the workers.

The Government member of Cuba noted the information provided by the Government, according to which: (i) the new draft bill on trade unions took into account the Committee of Experts’ comments on the need to ensure that the national legislation was in conformity with the Convention; (ii) the legislative committee established in the Ministry of Manpower and Migration had finalized the preparation of a new draft Labour Code, and dialogue sessions were held with employers’ and workers’ organizations, and civil society organizations, to discuss the draft text. She encouraged the Government to continue taking measures in line with its commitments.

The Worker member of Germany also speaking on behalf of the Worker members of Finland, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, stated that security forces in Egypt were operating with the utmost harshness. Despite the reprisals, local strikes had occurred in the recent past. Examples included: in May 2016, a shipyard protest in Alexandria where 20 strikers had been arrested by the military police and brought before a military court; in December 2016, a strike in the chemical industry where 200 strikers had been arrested by the police and released after a few hours; and in February 2017, a partial strike by nursing staff in a hospital where 36 persons had been suspended and subject to an arrest warrant for “work obstruction”. Their only offence had been that they had attempted to organize freely outside the state system of control and had demanded higher wages in the face of rising inflation. She added that the state-controlled and supervised ETUF was an extended arm of the Government, supervised by the Minister of Labour in its organizational, financial and personnel matters. The ITUC, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) did not cooperate with the ETUF, as it was not considered to be a free trade union. While the ETUF enjoyed a State-assured monopoly, the formation of independent and free unions was systematically hampered. The envisaged legislation on the registration and recognition of trade unions would not only perpetuate, but also exacerbate the situation. The already registered ETUF would be recognized, whereas all other unions would, in light of the excessive requirements, be de facto deprived of their right to exist. She called on the Government to bring an end to the constant legal and practical impediments to free trade unions and eventually fulfil its obligations under the Convention.

The Government member of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela emphasized the Government’s commitment to continue complying with ratified ILO Conventions. In its 2017 report, the Committee of Experts had noted with interest the final draft law on trade union organizations, which had been approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to Parliament for adoption. He welcomed the indication by the Government representative that this draft took into account the comments made by the Committee of Experts, and trusted that the Government would continue adopting further measures to comply with the Convention, bearing in mind the spirit of pluralism that was reflected in the participation of the accredited tripartite delegation in this session of the International Labour Conference. He also considered that the Committee should bear in mind the Government’s goodwill and efforts to comply with the Convention. Lastly, he hoped that the Committee’s conclusions would be objective and balanced so that the Government could take them into account and give them weight in the application of the Convention.

An observer representing the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) recalled the statement by the Worker members that the draft law on trade union organizations did not come close to ensuring the full right of freedom of association. The lack of consultation with independent unions during the drafting process had rendered any semblance of genuine social dialogue void. The new provisions appeared to ensure that those trade unions that were already recognized would continue in their status, while new independent unions would have to go through a fresh registration process. Real trade union pluralism could not be achieved under those provisions, especially given the onerous membership requirements included in the draft proposals for the establishment of unions. The ITF affiliates in Egypt continued to face difficulties. A recent letter from the Government had confirmed that public sector employees were banned from dealing financially and administratively with trade unions, federations or independent committees not affiliated with the only recognized national union federation. The letter specified that independent unions were illegal for the purposes of the Trade Unions Act. In a subsequent letter, the Minister of Labour and the Public Transit Authority had called on the Minister of Local Development to issue the necessary instructions to all sectors under its purview not to accept the stamp of the independent unions on any official documents or national identification documents. As a result, ITF affiliates had reported consistent state interference in their activities, which had prevented them from collecting membership fees, and thus threatened their very existence. The leader of the Dock Workers’ Federation had been deducted five days’ pay because of a social media post calling for the reinstatement of a statutory monetary supplement. Real trade unions representing the real interests of the workers needed to be able to function in full freedom. The Government was urged to comply with the observations of the Committee of Experts and to urgently bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.

The Government member of Mauritania said that the information provided by the Government proved that progress was under way, despite the political challenges currently faced by the country. Following the parliamentary elections, the new draft law on trade union organizations had been prepared in consultation with the social partners and had been sent to the ILO for comments. In April 2017, the Government had sent the final version of the draft law to the ILO. Moreover, according to the Parliamentary committee, another round of consultations would be held next July 2017, and the draft law would be adopted in October 2017.

Another observer representing the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) indicated that the Egyptian Democratic Labour Congress had been established on 28 January 2014 and had submitted its accreditation to the Ministry of Manpower. However, Circular No. 6-4-2014 of the Council of Ministers had been issued calling on all governmental institutions and administrations to stop collaboration with any independent unions, and to recognize only the Confederation of Trade Unions that was supported by the Government. All related information could be found in the complaint that had been submitted to the ILO in 2013. She added that many independent trade unions had been harassed and unionists had been persecuted or threatened, such as the unionists of the Maritime Union who had been convicted by military courts under Case No. 2759/2016. Lastly, she indicated that, in the course of this International Labour Conference, 32 persons had been arrested and had lost their right to be paid because of being accused of calling on workers to strike.

The Government member of Algeria welcomed the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to ensure compliance with the Convention. These measures included the preparation of a draft law on trade union organizations, consultations in this regard with the social partners, as well as the consideration of the relevant technical comments of the ILO. All those steps illustrated the commitment of the Government. With the new draft law, the Government was seeking to address the discrepancies between the Trade Unions Act and the Convention, in particular with regard to the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of trade unions and trade union pluralism. The Government and the social partners should therefore be encouraged to continue to move forward and avail themselves of the technical assistance of the ILO.

The Government member of Sudan commended the important steps taken by the Government despite the difficult situation in the country, which was experiencing political challenges. Labour legislative reforms had been undertaken by the Government, in particular with regard to the drafting of a labour law on trade union organizations. The draft legislation had been submitted to the ILO for comments. She welcomed the social dialogue initiated by the Government, which was an indication of its respect for freedom of association. The Committee should take into account the positive steps taken by the Government.

The Employer member of Algeria said that the Government, which had cooperated with the Office and made huge progress in its legislative reform, should be encouraged and supported. There should also be support for the steps taken by the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to highlight problems in the draft law on trade unions and introduce legislation that was in conformity with ratified ILO Conventions. All the initiatives taken by the Egyptian authorities were significant steps forward that deserved support and encouragement.

The Government member of Libya said that the Government had proved its commitment to the full application of the Convention by amending the legislation on trade unions. The new draft law on trade union organizations offered an adequate protective framework to workers, particularly as it had been drafted in collaboration with the ILO. He nonetheless expressed surprise at the inclusion of the Government in the list of cases to be discussed by the Committee, in view of the positive steps already taken by the Government. He urged the Committee to take into account the Government’s commitment to fully comply with the Convention.

The Government member of the Russian Federation expressed his deep gratitude to the Government representative for the exhaustive information provided on the steps taken to achieve full compliance with the Convention. He expressed satisfaction with regard to tripartite social dialogue in Egypt. The cooperation of the Government with the ILO and the efforts made to take into account the ILO’s comments on the draft law on trade union organizations were to be commended. This had led to notable and visible progress, despite the multiple challenges faced by the Government, and this progress would certainly continue. The discussion before the Committee had to be used to express approval and encouragement for the efforts made by the Government to comply with international labour standards, in particular in the area of freedom of association.

The Worker member of Italy also speaking on behalf of the Worker members of Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom, recalled that the mutilated body of Giulio Regeni had been found near Cairo on 3 February 2016. He had been a 28-year-old student of sociology at the University of Cambridge, whose research had focused on the organization of unions in Egypt. His family still did not know who had ordered his abduction, torture and murder, nor the reason why. Much uncertainty remained due to the absence of cooperation between the Egyptian and Italian authorities. There was evidence that Mr Regeni had been tortured for seven days and that he had had a slow death. The Italian paper La Repubblica had reported that officers from the National Security Agency had been directly implicated in the murder. As a result, the Public Prosecutor of Rome had requested the Prosecutor of Cairo to be able to question these agents. This request had remained unanswered. That case was not isolated. For the past three years, non-governmental organizations had reported 1,124 killings, in addition to cases of deaths in detention, individual and collective torture, medical negligence in detention and other forms of state violence. Despite the evidence to the contrary, the Government denied the involvement in these crimes and refused to address them. The murder of Giulio Regeni had pointed at a serious deficit in Egypt, which had also been the engine of Tahrir Square: the fundamental human right of workers to organize in order to change their status, become free and achieve in peace a more just society. The case of Mr Regeni had become a symbol for all Italians and the Government should be aware that justice would be pursued.

The Government member of Ghana recalled that the Government was undertaking a review of new draft legislation. The major stakeholders, including workers, employers, civil society and the ILO had been included in the review, which had taken into consideration the comments made by the Committee of Experts with regard to consolidating the provisions on freedom of association, ensuring trade union pluralism and including within the scope of the new draft Labour Code certain vulnerable categories of workers, such as domestic workers. He hoped that the Government would progress without delay on this review to ensure compliance with the Convention.

The Government member of Zimbabwe stated that the Government’s comprehensive presentation had helped to shed light on the case. From the submissions of the Employer and Worker members of Egypt, it was clear that all the tripartite partners were involved in the ongoing reforms. The parties had been consulted and were in agreement with the draft law on trade union organizations. The tripartite partners were therefore encouraged to continue their collaboration on the matter. He agreed with the comments of the Government representative questioning the criteria for listing countries to appear before the Committee. The Government had demonstrated its commitment and willingness to give effect to ratified Conventions, despite the difficult circumstances. The Employer and Worker members of Egypt had acknowledged that social dialogue existed in the country. The Office should continue to provide technical assistance, which would be instrumental in expediting the labour law reform.

The Worker member of the Syrian Arab Republic expressed support for the draft law on trade union organizations, which would soon be brought before the Egyptian Parliament. He commended the comments made by the Office on the draft law and requested the Committee to take into consideration the complex situation in Egypt in recent years. The ILO should continue to provide technical assistance to countries, such as Egypt, which had achieved tangible progress towards compliance with the Convention.

The Government representative wished to clarify, with regard to the doubts expressed by the Worker members in relation to some of the achievements highlighted, that some of the comments appeared to relate to the Trade Unions Act, or an earlier version of the draft law on trade union organizations, which had been revised in the meantime, in light of the ILO’s comments. It was important to recall that since 2011 Egypt had undergone major upheavals and it had been able to make progress only after calm had been restored in mid-2013, with achievements such as the holding of presidential elections, the adoption of the Constitution and the resumption of work by the House of Representatives, the body mandated to adopt legislation. Many interventions appeared to be based on hearsay only, and not on a study of the actual situation. Egypt had made progress with the draft law on trade union organizations so as to address the flaws in the current law. The new law was based on freedom of association and had been prepared through tripartite engagement and with the acceptance of many ILO comments. The draft law abolished any distinction between different trade union organizations, and the Government would take all the measures needed to finalize the law so as to provide protection to trade unions. In response to the statement made by the Worker member of Italy, he said that the incident had also shaken the Egyptian people. Although the statement concerned a criminal offence which should not be discussed before the Committee, he stated that procedures were under way between the Public Prosecutor in Egypt and his counterpart in Italy, and that a coordination meeting had been held on 17 May with a judicial investigation team from Rome. He also referred to the case of an Egyptian citizen who had become a victim of crime in Italy, and in relation to which similar investigations and coordination were taking place. Finally, he emphasized that Egypt saw no obstacles to achieving freedom of association and aimed to adopt the draft law on trade union organizations, with the technical support and cooperation from the ILO. The Government had put in place procedures to achieve a system of free and strong trade union organizations by the end of the year. The support of the ILO over the past few years had helped to accelerate the achievements made in a transparent and open manner. The law would be adopted and serve the public interest of Egypt, in full conformity with its Constitution, and the international Conventions ratified by Egypt.

The Worker members, while thanking the Government representative for the explanations and details provided, replied to certain points. They did not consider the dispersion of the trade union movement to be a positive, but the road was long between having a single union (as was the case in Egypt at present) to the dispersed movement described by the Government representative. It was acceptable, in accordance with the Convention, for representativity thresholds to be established, if they were reasonable, but that was not the point at issue. The ministerial circulars referred to above had been issued based on the opinion of the Council of State, which considered that independent trade unions were illegal under the current legislation. Even the Government acknowledged that this legislation was at odds with the Convention. The Government claimed that the legislation in question had been amended and that the Worker members’ comments no longer applied. It was however regrettable that the Government had not seen fit to supply the Committee with the latest version of the Bill so that its members would have all the facts.

Full and unconditional respect for freedom of association involved specific steps to ensure that this freedom was respected: (i) in the short term, the Government should withdraw the ministerial circulars which, in practice, prohibited independent trade unions. A State that really wished to guarantee freedom of association had no need for a law to be passed to ensure that it could be exercised. It was enough to refrain from taking measures to restrict it; (ii) in the medium term, the Bill that was being drafted must be in line with all the provisions of the Convention and respond to the criticisms of the current legislation. More particularly, that implied that the new legislation must guarantee the expression of trade union pluralism by ensuring that no trade union could be favoured at the expense of others. In addition, it must guarantee the freedom of workers to join organizations of their own choosing, without the imposition of any other criteria or restrictions not permitted by the Convention. The Government should refrain from adopting measures that undermined the independence and financial autonomy of organizations, such as the introduction of controls over their accounts. The same was true of respect for the right to draw up by-laws and administrative rules without interference from the authorities. To that end, the Government could continue to request ILO technical assistance. Lastly, in view of the information brought to the attention of the Committee of Experts and presented to the Conference Committee, a direct contacts mission was strongly recommended.

The Employer members highlighted their commitment to freedom of association as it related to both employers’ and workers’ organizations. Freedom of association was the foundation for democracy and crucial for a climate of stable labour relations conducive to investment. Taking into account the importance of the issues raised, the discussion before the Committee had contributed to a better understanding of the case at hand. They appreciated the Government’s commitment and believed that the Committee’s conclusions should focus on supporting the process of the drafting and adoption of a final law on trade unions. The Employer members encouraged the Government to continue to involve the social partners in social dialogue and to report on its efforts to the Committee of Experts so that it could acknowledge progress. They were supportive of the processes through which the Government engaged with the ILO for the finalization of the draft law on trade union organizations in line with the Convention.

Conclusions

The Committee took note of the oral statements made by the Government representative and the discussion that followed.

The Committee regretted a number of long-standing discrepancies between the national legislation and the provisions of the Convention. The Committee also regretted that despite repeated requests from the Committee of Experts, the Government failed to provide a copy of the draft Labour Code and the draft Law on Trade Union Organisations and Protection of the Right to Organise.

Taking into account the discussion, the Committee called upon the Government of Egypt to:

- ensure that the draft Law on Trade Union Organisations, presently before the House of Representatives for adoption, is in conformity with the Convention, in particular with respect to the concerns relating to the institutionalization of a single trade union system;

- transmit a copy of this draft legislation to the Committee of Experts;

- ensure that all trade unions in Egypt are able to exercise their activities and elect their officers in full freedom, in law and in practice, in accordance with the Convention.

The Committee called on the Government to accept an ILO direct contacts mission to assess the progress in respect of the abovementioned conclusions and requested that this information, as well as a detailed report from the Government, be transmitted to the Committee of Experts for examination before its next session in November 2017.

The Government representative indicated that his Government fully opposed and objected to the totality of the conclusions because they did not reflect the content of the discussion which had taken place before the Committee and did not reflect reality. He asked for the opinion of the Legal Adviser on the way to proceed when a government has objections to the conclusions.

The Worker member of Egypt indicated that an attempt was taking place to politicize the Committee’s conclusions to the detriment of Egypt. The conclusions did not reflect the fact that a draft law had been presented to the House of Representatives.

The Legal Adviser indicated that the question raised concerned the procedure to be followed for the adoption of the Committee’s conclusions on individual cases when the government concerned wished to express objections to the proposed conclusions. It was essential to recall that in discharging its supervisory function, the Committee on the Application of Standards drew on the Standing Orders of the Conference but had also developed its own working methods and long-standing practices over the years. The conclusions were delivered based on carefully balanced views exchanged in order to encapsulate consensus. It could happen, and had indeed happened in the past, that the government concerned expressed its disagreement with the conclusions. In these cases, the Government’s disagreement was always faithfully reflected in the Record of Proceedings. This long-standing and constant practice gave satisfaction to governments that their objections had been faithfully reproduced.

The Government representative thanked the Legal Advisor for his reply. He explained that his Government was against the conclusions which were inaccurate and counterfactual. They contained no reference to the new draft legislation, although the draft law had been presented on two occasions before it was submitted to Parliament and the ILO had expressed its views as recently as last May. He repeated that the conclusions were inconsistent with reality: not a single point was accurate. He would have accepted them, had they reflected events that had occurred, but as they were factually inaccurate, he felt he must object.

Another Government representative indicated that the question he wished to raise with the Legal Advisor was not related to the Committee’s practice but to the fact that the Chairperson had asked the room whether there was any objection prior to the adoption of the conclusions. He asked whether, in the event of an objection as in this case, the Chairperson could still go ahead and declare that the conclusions had been adopted by consensus.

The Legal Adviser answered that the Chairperson could proceed on the basis of a very large majority in circumstances where objections were expressed. The main duty of the Chairing Officer was to conduct the debate according to the Standing Orders of the Conference. He could therefore proceed to adopt conclusions despite legitimately expressing disagreement by the government concerned as long as all statements and facts were faithfully reflected in the Record of Proceedings.

The Worker member of Egypt indicated that, according to the conclusions, the ILO had not received a copy of the draft law. He questioned how this could be true, as an ILO official had visited the country, and had obtained and commented on a copy of the law on which the agreement of the social partners had been obtained. In the particular circumstances of his country, it was incomprehensible that the Committee would express disappointment. With the social partners, legislation had been developed that could contribute to peace and open a new era for the people of Egypt, and although the trade unions may have disagreed with certain issues, there was overall agreement. Yet where the Government had hoped that the ILO would extend its support, it had expressed disappointment: the conclusions suggested that nothing had happened, although enormous progress had been made through very hard work. The conclusions disregarded that progress.

The President of the Committee while taking note of the interventions, indicated that they would be entirely reflected in the Conference Record of Proceedings. He requested that the Government contact the secretariat to ensure follow up on the case.