The Egyptian Ministry of Manpower is outraged after the International Labour Organisation (ILO) placed Egypt on a shortlist of countries that violate workers rights known as the blacklist.
The blacklist includes countries that do not apply international labour standards with regard to trade union freedoms.
The 108th Session of the International Labour Conference, hosted by Geneva with the participation of 187 ILO member States with tripartite representation of governments, workers and employers, held a special session to discuss the situation in Egypt before the Standards Committee.
Manpower Minister Mohamed Saffan said the Egyptian government should have been honoured instead of being included on the shortlist, given the great efforts it has made over the last three years to comply with the Convention on Freedom of Association.
Mohamed Wahaballah, Secretary General of the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions, expressed regret at the news whilst the Federation and the Ministry said that they were willing to cooperate with the ILO and the Committee of Experts.
The Government of Egypt requested that the organisation provide technical support so that it can make amendments to the law and take all necessary measures to avoid the Committee’s observations and organise elections for suspended trade unions and newly established unions.
The blacklist is made up of 24 countries including Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Yemen and Iraq.
