The Egyptian Draft Constitution
A Step Forwards … A Step Backwards
The Center for Trade Union and Workers Services “CTUWS”, August 26, 2013:
The Experts Committee completed the first draft of the Egyptian constitution and delivered it yesterday to the interim president Chancellor Adly Mansour who will submit it for review to a 50-person committee before the final draft is reached. Although the first draft is a good shift in comparison with the suspended constitution of the Muslim Brotherhood especially as regarding the articles on public freedoms and the right of citizenship, it did not bring anything new regarding the workers’ economic and social rights and trade union freedoms.
Article 12 provides that there shall be no forced labor except in accordance with law and for rendering a public service for fair wages. This article refers forced labor to the law and does not take into account the international agreements which Egypt had ratified and which completely prohibit any forced labor. This article should have added at the end: “without contradiction with the international agreements and conventions which Egypt ratified”.
Article 14 provides that peaceful strike is a right regulated by the law. This draft refers the right to strike to be regulated by the law. It reminds us with the provisions of the Labor Law No. 12/2013 which regulates the right to strike and makes it quite impossible to exercise this right. This article has, again, transgressed the international agreements which Egypt had ratified and which secure the workers’ right to strike in full freedom. This article should have added at the end: “without contradiction with the international agreements and conventions which Egypt ratified”.
As regarding social insurances, article 16 provides that the State guarantees for every worker the right to social insurances. Any citizen uncovered by social insurances has the right to social security if the citizen is unable to sustain himself and his family and in cases of disability, unemployment and senility. The State shall provide suitable pensions for farmers, workers in agriculture and informal workers as prescribed by law. This article is drafted in a manner which does not oblige the state to put all these guarantees into effect and leaves all this for the estimations of the State budget and according to the economic circumstances.
Article 23 on the national economy provides that national economy shall be based on developing economic activities and encouraging investments according to a comprehensive development plan ensuring the increase of national income, establishing social justice , ensuring equitable distribution, enhancement of standard of living, elimination of poverty and unemployment, increase of work opportunities, increase of production, safeguarding the rights of workers, preservation of property rights and their participation in implementing the development plan, and establishing a minimum wage and retirement compensation that would guarantee decent living standards for all citizens, and a maximum wage in state bodies and public sector and business sector companies with exemptions regulated by law. This article uses the same flexible words regarding the minimum wage and opens the door for interpretations of the ‘decent life’. The definition of a minimum wage in every country is linked with the inflation rate. It also opens the door for the maximum wage and leaves exemptions to be regulated by law. Moreover, the article did not decide a fixed percentage between the minimum and the maximum wage levels in order to bridge the income gaps.
Article 60 provided that it is prohibited to employ children in jobs that are not fit for a child’s age, or that prevent the child from continuing education. This article opens the door wide for various estimations of jobs that fit or does not fit a child. It did not decide a certain age limit for child labor according to the pertinent international agreements and conventions on child labor.
The draft constitution deleted without justification article 207 of the 2012 constitution concerning the Economic and Social Council which was one of the good points in that controversial constitution of 2012. The Council was tasked with the participation of all population categories in making economic, social and environmental policies as well as promoting social dialogue. According to article 207 of the suspended 2012 constitution the government, the Parliament and the Shura Council had to seek the advice of the council on these policies and the pertinent draft laws.
The above were just initial remarks on the draft constitution which is now submitted for the 50-person committee which represents the Egyptian society as a whole. We emphasize that this committee should include real representatives of the workers and avoid the mistakes of the previous period which fused the revolution of the Egyptian people and the Egyptian workers.
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