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

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

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Right of workers to join organizations of their own choosing and right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities. In its previous comments, 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. In particular, the Committee had requested the Government to take the necessary measures to:

• -amend section 19(f) of 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;
• -ensure that the categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Labour Code (public servants in state agencies who do not exercise authority in the name of the State, 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;
• -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; and
• -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.

The Committee notes the new draft Trade Union Act which has been adopted by the Council of Ministers. The Committee requests the Government to transmit as a matter of urgency the draft Trade Union Act so that it can be reviewed. The Committee firmly expects the draft to take into account its previous comments.