A campaign of labor activists and independent labor groups are holding a conference on Thursday where they plan to introduce an alternative draft for the existent labor law issued in 2003 which, they argue, infringes on workers rights.
Formed in March 2014, Towards a Fair Labor Law, a group of labor and political activists, said the current law, as well as the draft proposed by the government, only come to “embolden the manipulation of workers and the abuse of their legitimate rights”, accusing the government of favoring the interests of employers in its draft.
The campaign, noting that its draft was prepared in consultation with workers, maintained it rejects any enactment of labor-related drafts before electing a parliament.
The campaign said that among speakers in the conference hosted by the Syndicate of Commercial Professions are prominent activist and researcher Ahmed Harara and human rights lawyer and former presidency runner Khaled Ali.
On its Facebook page, the campaign slammed amendments proposed by the government as “further worsening” the current law by “offering workers as an easy prey” to investors as part of its offers ahead of the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) on Friday.
The campaign posted a list of stipulations included in their proposed version, most notably providing for the workers’ right to go on strike. They also include equality in payment and vacations between public and private sector workers, and establishing a national database of seekers of job opportunities both at home and abroad.
The campaign’s draft also denies employers the right to expel their employees before referring them to a “labor court”.
