Egypt - CLR

LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Egypt ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1957 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1954.

Labour Rights Index 2022

67/100

LRI Country Score

25/100

Trade Union Indicator

23.8 %

Trade union density rate (%)

- %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

10

SDG indicator 8.8.2

5

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0 §76 & 77, Constitution 2014; §11, Trade Union Law 2017; CEACR, C87, Obs. 2020

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

Yes

1 §13, Constitution of Egypt, 2014; §3,145-167, 179, 187, Labour Law 2003

No Violation Found

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0 §15, Constitution of Egypt 2014; §3, 192-195, Labour Law 2003; CEACR, C87, Obs. 2020

A / B

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

No

0 §69(9) & 192, Labour Law 2003

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100.

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT.

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT.

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT.

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March. For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link.

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

National Labour Legislation / ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)

§192 of Labour Law 2003

In all cases, the notification shall comprise the reasons prompting to the strike and the time limit determined for it.

CEACR, C87, Obs. 2020

Labour Code. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the draft Labour Code transmitted by the Government and which was being debated in the Manpower Committee of the Parliament. It welcomed the Government’s statement that all provisions of the draft Labour Code would continue to be reviewed and that the Committee’s comments would be presented to the Parliament. In reply to the Committee’s considerations in relation to the right to strike, the Committee notes the Government’s reaffirmation that the right to strike is a constitutional right and that its provisions are formulated through consultation and dialogue with both workers’ and employers’ representatives. In respect of the Government’s reiteration that the obligation to declare the duration of the strike does not specify a maximum period or periods of a strike action, which may be extended or renewed for similar periods, thus safeguarding the aim of a strike action as a legitimate means of pressure, the Committee recalls that workers and their organizations should be able to call a strike for an indefinite period if they so wish (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 146). As for the prohibition of strike action in strategic or vital establishments in which the suspension of work will result in a breach of national security, or in main or vital services, which are provided to citizens, the Government recalls that the identification of such facilities and the rules governing strike action will be issued by the Prime Minister. As regards the reference to a specific trade union organization in section 78 of the draft Labour Code, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that this was an error and that the Manpower Committee has been contacted to rectify it. Recalling that restrictions on the right to strike should be limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State, essential services in the strict sense of the term and situations of acute national crisis, the Committee expresses the firm expectation that the Labour Code will be adopted without delay and that it, along with any implementing decrees, will be fully in line with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard and to transmit a copy of the Labour Code as soon as it has been adopted, as well as relevant regulations that may have been issued thereunder.

Violations

National Labour Legislation

§69(9) & 192, Labour Law 2003

Article: 69
A worker shall not be discharged unless he commits a serious error.
The following cases shall be considered as a serious error:
1. If it is established. that the worker has assumed a false identity or submitted false documents.
2. If it is established that the worker has committed an error resulting in serious damages to the employer, providing the employer shall notify the event to the competent authorities within twenty four hours from the time he learns of its occurrence. 3. If, despite warning the worker in writing to observe the instructions necessary to
be followed for the safety of workers and the establishment, he repeats non-observing them,
providing they are issued in writing and put up at a prominent place.
4. If the worker absents himself without legitimate justification more than twenty intermittent days during the same year, or more than ten consecutive days, providing a written warning to the worker by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, ten days after his
absence in the first case, and five days after his absence in the second case, shall precede his discharge.
5. If it is established that the worker has divulged the secrets of the establishment at which he works, leading to the Occurrence of serious damages and harms to the establishment.
6. If the worker embarks on competing with the employer in the same activity.
7. If during the working hours the worker is found to be in a state of plain drunkenness, or affected by the intoxicating substance he used.

8. If it is established that the worker has aggressed against the employer or the general director, or also if he commits a serious aggression any of his superiors during or because of
the work.
9. If the worker does not observe the controls prescribed in articles (192) to (194) of Book -4, of the present law.
“192. The workers shall have the right to stage a peaceful strike. The strike shall be announced and organized through their trade union organizations in defense of their vocational, economic and
social interests, within the limits and according to the controls and procedures prescribed in the present law.
In case the workers of the establishment that has a trade union committee intend to stage a strike where it is allowed by the present law, the trade union committee shall – following approval of the board of the concerned general trade union with the majority of two
thirds of its members – notify each of the employer and the concerned administrative authority, at least ten days before the date determined for the strike, by registered letter with acknowledgement of
receipt. If the establishment has no trade union committee, the notification of the workers’ intention to stage the strike shall be sent to the concerned general trade union, and the latter shall – following approval of its board of directors with the majority prescribed in the
previous clause – attend to sending the said notification.
In all cases, the notification shall comprise the reasons prompting to the strike and the time limit determined for it.