Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Dock Work Convention, 1973 (No. 137) - Egypt (Ratification: 1982)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Measures to encourage permanent or regular employment. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to communicate information on measures taken to encourage the provision of permanent or regular employment of dockworkers, in light of the Government’s indication in its 2012 report that the majority of dockworkers employed in loading and unloading are irregular workers. The Government indicates that opportunities for permanent and regular employment will increase thanks to the ongoing expansion projects of the Suez Canal, as well as the facilities in Damietta port comprising packaging companies, food factories, and shipping and port handling enterprises. According to the Government, the port handling enterprises guarantee dockworkers’ jobs by regularly renewing temporary employment contracts. These enterprises keep a register of workers by means of an electronic database of human resources, which was established for the prompt supply of the workforce. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the development of the port sector so as to encourage the provision of permanent or regular employment of dockworkers. It requests the Government in particular to, in accordance with Article 3, provide specific information on the numbers of dockworkers on the registers maintained by the port handling enterprises and any variations in their numbers. In this regard, the Committee invites the Government to indicate the manner in which the above-mentioned electronic database of human resources is compiled and kept up to date, the different occupational categories of dockworkers registered in the database, and whether it is used in such a way as to ensure priority of work for dockworkers. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether this system of an electronic database of dockworkers is limited to the Damietta port or whether similar databases are held for the country’s other ports.

Article 6. Efficiency of work in ports. In its previous comments, the Committee requested information on the application of safety, health, welfare and vocational training provisions to dockworkers. The Committee notes the legislative texts (the Labour Code) and regulatory texts (Ministerial Decree No. 211/2003) on safety, health and social protection to which the Government refers, reporting that they are applicable to dockworkers. With regard to vocational training, the Government refers to training provided in various specialized vocational colleges, leading to a pre-university degree in logistics, particularly at the Saïd maritime port vocational college. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether specific regulations or collective agreements provide for the need to ensure skills training, and refresher and professional development courses for dockworkers. The Committee requests the Government also to specify whether vocational training is ensured within the enterprise or by a public body.