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Labors’ elections and the necessity for judicial monitoring:

On the fifth of July, Land Center for Human Rights held a symposium about labors’ elections. It argued elections of labors’ syndicates and its legal and administrational circumstances. It asked for existence of judicial monitoring in the next elections on September in order to guarantee honest elections that is like elections of shoura and people assembly. Moreover, it included a case through which LCHR sued the administrational authority to be obligated to apply all needed legal procedures to execute article no (41) of labor syndicate law no (35) of 1976 that was amended with the two laws no (81-12) of 1995 in the next elections.

Some journalists, unionists, lawyers and others, who are interested in labors’ affairs, attended the symposium. The symposium continued as open dialogue about the legal frame of syndicates’ elections and its following amendments. There were some editorial speeches for some attendants like Mr. Atef Elshaat “lawyer”, Mr. Mohamed Abd Salam “unionist in Chandler company” and Mr. Hassen Bdwy “editing manager in Alahaly newspaper”.

Mr. Atef talked about the legal frame of labor syndicate elections:

He discussed the violations that affected negatively on the elections. The most effective violation is the various amendments in syndicates’ law, which weakened the role of syndicalism committees and strengthened authorities of public union and syndicates. Moreover, long period of elective rotation that may extends to five years prevents labors from their rights to monitor their syndicalism committees. He pointed to some violations that are happened during elections period like nomination phase that doesn’t determine levels of reading and writing, propaganda phase that doesn’t let the nominees to use their right of propaganda and win phase that is determined by editor of worker force institution.

Finally, he ended his speech with stressing on the necessity to be real labor movement that has to choose the most suitable way to express their demands and conditions in order to have honest and clear elections.

Mr. Mohamed talked about the historical development of laws that organize labor syndicates in Egypt

Beginning with law no (35) of 1976 and the social, economical and political circumstances around it to the amendment no (1) of 1981 that deleted juristic person of syndicalism committees. Then, there was amendment no (12) of 1995 that enlarged elective rotation to be five years and allowed persons over sixty to share in the elections, in addition, it allowed the editor to be unionist. According to Mr. Mohamed point of view, the syndicalism regulation became follower, dependent and undemocratic that in the last rotation there were 18 public syndicates that succeeded by recommendation in addition to the public union of syndicates that succeeded by the same way. He pointed to non-existence of guarantees that could prevent continuity of the problems in the next rotations especially after preventing labors from their rights to have nomination lenience. In addition to issuing of decision 90/91 that gave the minister of worker force to put any nominee aside even in elections night. Moreover, there was issuing of decision in 1999 that determined minimum number of labors to be 250 one although most of them haven’t this number of labors.

Mr. Hassen Bdwy talked about problems of exercise: .

All bad circumstances of labors’ syndicates invite us to organize powerful labor movement that can delete present syndicates’ law and participate in regulating a new one, which guarantees labors’ natural right to form their syndicalism committees. About obstacles that may face this movement, he pointed to the insane development of labors’ movement in Egypt in addition to insistence of the government to interfere in election.

After these speeches, the unionist Mustafa Abd Ghafar discussed the main reasons of weakness of labor movement that most of activists got out of work as early pension. In addition, law no (203) of 1991 that issued that every company had to make its private code according to its financial conditions, which hidden labors’ unity. Therefore, we have to organize democratic elective program in the new elections in order to aware labors with their roles and duties whose symbol is “deleting syndicates’ law”.

Mr. Abd Mennen Mahmud “the unionist in Elcook company” said “ labors need to cooperate to establish powerful syndicate that defends their rights, which isn’t like usual syndicates that used to be inherited”. The problem that series unionists face is that they always face tyranny so they need special institution that funds labors and syndicates’ movements.

Mr. Wgdey Abd Azeez “journalist in world today newspaper” suggested to appeal unconstitutional of present syndicates law. He invited to aware labor movement in order to fight against law of unified work and health insurance law. He stressed on the necessity to interest with labors of the private sector especially after privatization that most of those labors aren’t follow any labor syndicates.

Mr. Karam Saber “executive director of LCHR” concluded the discussion by stressing on changes of the global conditions that invited us “unionists, civil society organizations and others, who are interested in labor affairs in Egypt” to cooperate together to achieve labors’ rights.

The symposium ended with some recommendations:

Issuing inclusive work program on agenda of civil organizations cooperatively with unionists and labors. In addition to labors’ cases connection with the public cases because labors don’t live in separated island.

The necessities to be clear symbol for the next elections in addition to obvious demanding program.

Cooperation between organizations, lawyers, workers in work syndicates.

It has to be dialogues between all participants for experiences exchanging.

We have to release from limited world by moving towards new hubs and

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