Labor leaders have objected to a bill on trade union freedoms that was prepared by the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and discussed by Parliament’s Manpower Committee on Monday. 

The leaders rejected Article 15 of the bill, which states that the formation of a union can be challenged at the Administrative Court.

“The Administrative Court has no right to consider a labor case,” said Kamal Abbas, the general coordinator of the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services. “This is a blatant intervention on the part of the government in trade union affairs.”

Hany Samir, board member of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, said the Brotherhood intends to dominate unions with that bill, while former Minister of Manpower Ahmed al-Borei said the bill is reminiscent of the former regime’s practices against workers.

“The bill collects all workers under a single trade union entity,” he said. “This was rejected by the International Labor Union during the time of the former regime.”

“Egypt was dropped from the black list of the International Labor Organization after the revolution,” he said. “Let us not go backwards.”

Borei said that the draft law includes the same measures stipulated by the current Law 35/1976, which facilitates state control over trade unions in terms of finances, formation and promulgation of basic regulations.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm