The Tadamon coalition, a group of 36 anti-civil service law syndicates and independent unions, delegated representatives to submit a self-drafted alternative legislation to the parliament after it started discussing a re-submitted version of the draft law by the government.
The delegation headed to the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon to present the draft after the coalition said it will send a legal warning to Speaker of the House Ali Abdel Aal against discussing the draft law for the second time in the same legislative semester as they consider it unconstitutional.
Tadamon claimed the amendments to the draft law are “decorative” and “widens space for corruption within the administrative apparatus of the state”.
The draft law was resubmitted to the parliament, following amendments by the ministries of Finance and Planning, just days after it was rejected early in February.
The law, which overhauls the system of salaries, bonuses and promotions across state institutions and authorities, was the only one out of more than 300 laws to be rejected by the parliament. This prompted immediate criticism from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as his government strongly advocated for the law as an integral part of the government’s reformation plan.
The parliamentary Manpower Committee began discussing articles of the re-submitted civil service on Sunday.
Tadamon said in a statement on Tuesday that submitting the alternative legislation and the official warning comes within a series of escalatory steps the coalition has planned for May.
On International Workers Day the coalition had planned a protest to “mourn” the workers conditions and denounce “anti-worker” legislation.
The coalition has taken a leading role in advocating for workers since the issuance of the civil service law in March 2015 and organised the majority of protests against it.
