 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
 |
 |
|
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
|
|
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Supplement Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters GFTU adamant on labour law
ISSUES related to labour development in Egypt were discussed at a four-day seminar this month, reports Fatemah Farag.Management-labour relations were given a high priority at the May 10-13 meetings whichgrouped representatives from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) and the Ministry of Manpower and Emigration.
Abdel-Moneim El-Ghazali, secretary for international relations at the GFTU, announced that the ILO has given its support to the draft Egyptian Unified Labour Law on the grounds that it met the standards stipulated by the seven basic international conventions which organise work and which Egypt has ratified.
El-Ghazali explained that there would be a 180-day transition period before the full implementation of the law, assuming it is approved by parliament. The latter question -- related to when parliament will pass the law -- has remained unresolved since 1996 despite GFTU's endorsement of the 300-article draft. Last week, the GFTU leadership told the opposition press they would oppose any attempts to sabotage the current draft and that they would once again ask the president to intervene on their behalf.
El-Ghazali claimed that the tripartite cooperation between the ILO, GFTU and Ministry of Manpower and Immigration in the past few years, within the framework of Egypt's structural adjustment programme, had been to the benefit of workers. He indicated that in both IDEAL and Electrical Cables (two public sector companies undergoing privatisation), workers had received more benefits than expected, and that in Abu Zaabal, 580 small factories had been established to help workers invest their early retirement funds. Workers participating in this project now receive a monthly income of approximately LE1,000, according to El-Ghazali.
In a final document issued by the International Labour Relations Office at the Ministry of Manpower and Emigration, seminar participants asked the ILO to increase technical training programmes enhancing labour's collective bargaining skills, increase the scope of Arabic translation of its publications, and man a multi-skilled Cairo office. That office would also oversee the rest of North Africa and Sudan so as to increase the ability of workers in those areas to interact with each other and to be more effective.
For its part, GFTU called on government representatives and businessmen to participate in the training courses designed to explain collective bargaining procedures. The organisation also urged to all concerned to expedite the ratification of the draft unified labour law.
