Government domination of workers' unions has officially ended, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky For the first time since 1952, millions of Egyptian workers will be allowed to form their own independent unions without the interference of the government. The unprecedented decision was announced by the newly appointed minister of manpower and immigration, Ahmed El-Borai, early this week in a conference attended by labour rights activists and hundreds of workers at Al-Sawy Culture Wheel. The declaration which was issued enjoys the power of the law, recognises the right of Egyptian workers to establish labour unions and federations and is completely independent of the government in its regulations, financial affairs and elections. According to the declaration, the Ministry of Manpower and Migration has no authority over any labour union and does not have the authority to accept or reject the formation of new labour unions which will be formed simply by submitting notification to the ministry. All the paper work needed to establish new unions will be conducted by courts to avoid interference of any kind from the executive authority in the formation of unions. In 1942, Egypt's workers won the right to form unions, and after the revolution of 1952, former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser allowed the formation of larger groups, or federations, in order to use their support to reinforce the legitimacy of what was at the time a fledging government. But Nasser's successors, Anwar El-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, tended to limit the independence of labour unions and keep them under the government's tight control through the state-run Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF). But the new declaration announced by El-Borai puts an end to the domination of the ETUF which acted for more than five decades as the only official labour federation in Egypt. Today, approximately 28 per cent of the Egyptian workforce is unionised, with the majority of members employed in the public sector. The ETUF consists of 24 labour unions and has more than four million workers as members. Its president is not elected directly by the workers but by the general board of directors of the ETUF which was formed from the presidents of the 24 labour union members in the ETUF. Labour elections conducted a few years ago handed members of the ruling National Democratic Party the presidencies of 22 out of 24 labour unions within the ETUF. Hussein Megawer, the president of the ETUF, is currently being investigated on charges of administrative corruption and involvement in the attack on protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 February. Fourteen senior NDP officials are also being questioned. Early this month several hundred workers founded the Egyptian Federation of Independent Unions, Egypt's first independent trade union federation since 1957. The federation includes the Real Estate Tax Authority Employees' Union, the Egyptian Health Technicians Syndicate, Federation of Pensioners, and the Independent Teachers' Syndicate, all of which were established in the last 18 months. Other workers' unions have announced they will join the federation in the next few weeks as a first step to announcing the downfall of the ETUF. After the declaration of labour union rights, Director- General of the International Labour Organisation Juan Somavia pledged that Egypt would be removed from the ILO's black list which prevents freedom of associations and the formation of labour unions. "The recognition of the rights of all trade unions to be registered and conduct freely their legitimate activities opens the door for a new era where the right to freedom of association will be fully respected in law and in practice," Somavia said in a press conference on Saturday during a visit to Cairo. He said Egypt has been on a list of countries discussed by the International Labour Conference in relation to the limit of freedom of association. "This announcement today is a fundamental change, a historic moment. It's a major step in the democratisation process in which Egypt is involved. I'm here to listen, to assist and commit the ILO to accompany the people, government and social partners in this new era of social justice," Somavia added. Since 2009 the ILO has classified Egypt among the 25 states most in violation of international labour conventions. Many experts and activists believe consistent strikes by workers during the last four years was one of the main reasons behind the Egyptian revolution. More than 3,000 labour strikes were organised since 2005 by over two million workers across Egypt in all the state sectors, both government and private, calling for higher pay and other financial demands. "These strikes were enough to break the wall of fear between the Egyptian people and the Mubarak regime," said Kamal Abbas, president of the Centre for Trade Union and Worker's Services. Abbas said that labour participated in the revolution from the first day as a major force and that the regime was trying to avoid them since security officials, he added, understand the power of labour unions in Egypt. "On 9 February, more than 40,000 workers went on an organised strike and called for regime change as the only way to gain their rights," Abbas said.
