Egypt’s Parliament, chaired by Ali Abdel-Aal, officially approved on Tuesday the Trade Union Organisation’s draft law and will send it to the cabinet for review.
“I hope that it will be sent today and that the response of the cabinet will come tomorrow, because there is a review of the International Labour Organization in September, and therefore the law must be passed during the current term,” said Abdel Aal.
The draft law reduces the quorum set for the formation of the trade union committee from 150 workers to 50 workers, reducing the number of trade union committees necessary to form the general union from 15 to 10 committees, and reducing the number of workers joining it from 20,000 to 15,000. They also reduced the number needed to establish a trade union from 10 to seven unions, in addition to reducing the number of workers joining trade unions from two hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand workers.
The law abolished corporal punishment and penalties and replaced the penalty of imprisonment by aggravated financial penalties.
The member of the of the Trade Union Organization shall not be less than 15 years of age and not an employer in any commercial, industrial, agricultural, or service activity.
The law also defines the worker as a person who works for a wage with an employer under his direction or supervision, whether his work is permanent, temporary, accidental, or seasonal and whether he works for himself or for others in a trade or occupation.
