Égypte-actualités

"The government's ability to control workers ended with Mubarak," says Mohammed Abdeen, the general coordinator of legislation for the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU) inCairo. "It doesn't exist anymore. You can't control them."

For investors, labour's strength - and its weakness - may prove equally vexing.Egypt's workers are strong enough to interrupt commerce, yet too divided to force a resolution of the country's political stalemate.

Since the 2011 revolution, Egyptian workers have launched more than 3,000 strikes or demonstrations over wages, working conditions and political demands, Mr Abdeen says.

As Egypt averaged 7 per cent annual growth in the three years before the 2008 financial crisis, the promise of a compliant state union and low wages was instrumental in attracting investors from the United States, Europe and the Arabian Gulf. Foreign direct investment soared to more than $13 billion in 2008 from $2bn four years earlier.(....)

"The Muslim Brotherhood's policies will impoverish the Egyptian people even more," says Mr Abdeen, adding: "Egyptian workers won't go back. They won't retreat."

More on: http://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/stand-off-at-with-port-workers-strike-at-heart-of-egyptian-economy

It also maintains many of the labor provisions in the 1971 Constitution, which workers deem to be outdated — even detrimental — such as an article allowing forced labor.

Even some of the novel articles may end up negatively effecting Egypt’s workforce, namely stipulations seen as normalizing child labor, others legitimizing the military trials of civilians that may be used against striking workers, as well as new restrictions that may serve to outlaw numerous professional associations, particularly independent unions and syndicates.

The vague terminology of the new charter leaves room for interventionist legislation. For example, while Article 63 mentions “the right to peaceful strike”— not mentioned in Egypt’s older constitutions — the legislation that is being issued to regulate this article suggest that the right to strike will be curtailed.

Municipal laws regulating workers' rights indicate that Egypt's new ruling regime aims to keep both workers' and union movements on a short leash. Theseincluding Presidential Decree 97/2012 amending Trade Union Law 35/1976, Law 105/2012 regulating street vendors, and the Shura Council’s draft law on protests and strikes.

Since the 25 January uprising, more than 1,000 independent unions were established nationwide, some in non-unionized workforces, others in parallel to existing unions affiliated to the state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF).

In parallel to the official syndicates, two independent teachers’ unions were established while at least three press syndicates were created. However, the status of these independent entities is being brought into question in light of Egypt’s new Constitution.

Articles 51 to 53 stipulate union freedoms but place limitations on these freedoms. The restrictive Article 53 contradicts the provisions of Article 51, which stipulates “the right to establish associations and civil institutions, subject to notification only. Such institutions shall operate freely, and be deemed legal persons.”

Former Minister of Manpower, Ahmad Hassan al-Borei, declared that these constitutional articles "fail to protect union plurality and democracy." In turn, they stand in "violation of International Labor Organization’s conventions 87 and 98," concerning freedom of association, the right to organize, and collective bargaining, which Egypt ratified since the 1950s but has largely failed to uphold.

More : http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/egypt-s-constitution-seen-curtail-labor-rights-and-workers-freedoms

Abstracts

Almost a thousand new unions independent of ETUF have been established since the January 25, 2011 uprising against the Mubarak regime. Many of them have joined one of the two new union federations—the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions or the Egyptian Democratic Labor Congress. The federations and many of their constituent unions are weak in resources and organizational capacity—in part because Egypt had no experience with democratic trade unionism between the early 1950s and 2011. However, the existence of these federations and the high-profile struggles of many of their affiliated unions—municipal real estate tax assessors; Cairo bus and Metro workers; teachers; iron, steel, and ceramics workers; Ain Sokhna port workers—have put the demands for democratic trade unionism, workers freedom of association, and the right to bargain collectively on the political agenda. The International Labor Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation have supported these goals. Yet Egypt routinely flouts ILO conventions affirming these principles that it ratified long ago. (...)

In the arena of trade unionism and labor relations—as in the broader political and economic arena—Egypt’s future is uncertain. Industrial workers comprise one of the sectors that solidly, but certainly not unanimously, opposed the new constitution. In addition, large numbers of previously unpoliticized “couch potatoes” participated in militant demonstrations against Morsi’s November 22 decree and the proposed constitution.

Workers have not been a strong factor in the post-Mubarak national political arena. Some components of the National Salvation Front (NSF) formed to oppose the constitution claim to represent workers’ interests. But its leading figures have done little to build grassroots support among workers. Many NSF supporters hope the front will contest the upcoming parliamentary elections as a unified bloc. This could create a different balance of forces than in the overwhelmingly Islamist first post-Mubarak parliament. In that case, the contest over Egypt’s future would take place in the parliament as well as in streets and workplaces. If not, streets and workplaces will continue as they have for the past two years.