The General Coordinator of the Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services accused the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party on Wednesday of hindering the issuance of a law organizing the establishment of trade unions.
The People’s Assembly “was delayed in discussing trade unions’ freedom law,” Kamal Abbas told Al-Masry Al-Youm, adding that the manpower minister sent two letters to Parliament calling for swiftly issuing the law so Egypt is removed from the list of countries with no labor freedoms.
Abbas also accused the FJP of hindering the draft law proposed by former Manpower Minister Ahmed Hassan al-Borai, despite the approval of all authorities representing labor.
Meanwhile, MP Yossri Bayoumi of the FJP, who sits on the Manpower Committee, said “the committee concluded reviewing the trade unions’ freedom law to be issued before end of presidential elections.”
The committee, according to Bayoumi, was assisted by experts of the International Labor Organization (ILO) while reviewing the law to conform to Egypt’s international agreements related to trade unions freedom. The committee also called on ILO’s representative in North Africa, Mohamed al-Taraboulsi, and Middle East representative Hakim Rashid to review the law ahead of Parliament’s review of it.
“ILO will not remove Egypt from the blacklist, even if the trade unions’ freedom is issued. It takes a hostile attitude against Egypt because of the former regime,” Bayoumi said.
Abbas said the labor activists working for trade union freedom were not asked to review the law, although the committee confirmed they were invited during the hearing sessions.
He also added that the activists have no information about what the law includes.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
