<h3>Introduction</h3>
The gap between the drivers of the Egyptian labor market and the legislations regulating it - most notably Labor Law No. 12 of 2003 - hinders the development of the current labor market and negatively affects its future. It also leads to a decline in the number of jobs available that are considered &ldquo;Standard Forms of Employment,&rdquo; which are jobs that typically allow for higher stability and ensure social security for workers.
Employment relationships between employers and workers have evolved as a result of changes including the tech revolution, the rise of digital applications, artificial intelligence (AI), demographic shifts, climate change, globalization, the rise in migration flows, and precarious work. These factors have created a new world of jobs and labor relations and accelerated challenges which included the health impacts and labor market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the use of technology, digitalization, and the platform economy have become a social and economic necessity. Consequently, working remotely or working from home, using technology, has been normalized.
Coinciding with Labor Day, this article attempts to showcase the desired developmental philosophy for Egypt&rsquo;s legal environment for employment relationships, in hopes that a new and improved law will be adopted. One that would allow Egypt to develop a legislation that leads to the stability and advancement of labor relations between the two parties.
<h3 dir="ltr">A glimpse into the Egyptian labor market</h3>
Before addressing the philosophies that should be considered in the new labor law, an overview of the statistics of Egypt&rsquo;s labor market proves in numbers - especially those related to women &ndash; the need for a transformative law that changes the way workers and employees view their labour relationships in general. This will create a better working environment for individuals and the state as well.
According to the latest studies conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in cooperation with the Economic Research Forum (ERF), labor market indicators largely recovered from the aftermath of the Coronavirus and returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, unemployment rates still range between 4.3% - 8.6% for males, and 22.5% - 16.4% for females (Assaad, 2023).
The percentage of Egyptian women&rsquo;s participation in the labor market has declined, as has gender equality, compared to the previous year. In 2023 the World Economic Forum (WEF), published the gender gap index, which ranks nations in terms of economic participation and availability of job opportunities. Egypt ranked 134th out of 146 countries, making it one of the poorest performing nations in the region, (10th in the MENA region, down from 7th in 2022) alongside countries with deteriorating parity scores, namely Algeria and Morocco (World Economic Forum, 2023). Although unemployment affects everyone in Egypt; young women, in particular, are more vulnerable to it, as preliminary data for the 2023 labor force survey showed that the contribution rate of young women (15 years and over) reached 15.9% of the total labor force, compared to 69.6% for males. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was also recorded for females, 17.8% compared to 4.7% for males.
The state is committed to protecting women from all forms of violence in accordance with Article 11 of the Egyptian Constitution. In addition, the Penal Code has become more stringent with regard to crimes of sexual harassment, however, these articles were not necessarily framed to suit the nature of work relationships. The law still does not provide a work environment free of violence and harassment, especially for women. It has been proven that limiting the fight against sexual harassment only to criminal procedures is insufficient, as criminal law deals with the most egregious of cases, but not the usual behavioral issues in work environments. In addition, the burden of providing proof in criminal cases is higher, in light of the limited opportunities to obtain compensation. This explains the reluctance of some women to work in the private sector due to the weak availability of decent work in comparison to the government sector.
Within this overview of Egypt&rsquo;s labor numbers, the percentage of workers in the informal economy reaches 62%, which signals the need for the legislator to consider new philosophies when preparing the future labor law. Informal workers suffer from the spread of non-standard forms of employment relationships that do not guarantee social security and decent work standards.
<h3 dir="ltr">Contemporary labor legislation</h3>
Given the transformations the labor market is witnessing, led by technology and the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), globalization, and climate change, and their subsequent effects on the quantity and quality of jobs, and the continuing inequalities that have profound effects on the nature and future of work. Action must be taken to confront the challenges by adopting a contemporary philosophy of labor legislation. A philosophy that contributes to reducing inequality and ensuring that social justice is given priority, especially in light of the Egyptian government&rsquo;s welcoming the Global Alliance for Social Justice initiative, which aims to advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan and improve global cooperation in addressing notable gaps in social justice as follows:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Developing employment and its relationships concepts: by introducing the concept of the world of work instead of just a workplace or establishment, and expanding existing definitions to include new arrangements such as remote work, working from home, domestic workers, and work through agencies or through digital platforms. In addition to what already fits the definition of the world of work from the public and private sphere. The new concept would encompass places where the worker receives wages, takes breaks and meals, or uses sanitary facilities, washing, and changing facilities, during trips, travel, training, events, or social activities related to work, including communications, accommodations provided by the employer, as well as the commute to and from work. Also, including new concepts and issues into legislation, including - but not limited to - the concept of harassment and violence at work, in accordance with international labor standards, especially Convention 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment.</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Expanding the definition of worker and emphasizing the principle of equality and non-discrimination in rights: This proposal expands the definition of the term &ldquo;worker&rdquo; contained in the current labor law to include employees and other persons in the world of work, including staff members as defined in national laws and practices, persons employed regardless of their contractual status, those involved in training and apprenticeships, terminated workers, volunteers, job seekers, job applicants, and managers. Moreover, equality means extending the same labor rights of national workers to migrants without discrimination.</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Improving the occupational safety and health system and extending the reach of labor inspection systems: This ensures the extension of protection to all workers, regardless of their contractual nature. Furthermore, this would protect workers in various sectors, including workers in the informal economy, children, and women who work in agriculture. The bolstering of labor inspection systems will also curb evasion of labor laws including the minimum age for work, and child labor while the safety measures will offer employees legal protection from biological hazards, violence, sexual harassment, forced labor, and human trafficking (per the 2014 Protocol to Convention No. 29 of 1930, on Forced Labour). It is also of the utmost importance to extend the mandates of occupational health and safety and inspection to informal labor and informal sector establishments.&nbsp;This requires that the state, represented by the Ministry of labour - which is responsible for implementing the law &ndash; to take the necessary measures to achieve stability and develop relations between both parties of the production process (the employer and the employee). The state should also extend the scope of the occupational safety and health labor inspection system to deal with the aforementioned issues, most notably violence and harassment at work, etc. This requires training and amending the jurisdiction of the inspection body to ensure that all workers are subject to its coverage, regardless of their contractual nature, or their gender. Furthermore, approving preventive and procedural measures for reporting, complaints, protecting whistleblowers and witnesses,&nbsp; as well as establishing disciplinary rules that ensure everyone&rsquo;s compliance with those policies is also crucial. Finally, enabling workers&rsquo; organizations and their representatives to defend workers&rsquo; rights, and allowing both parties to negotiate improvements to those policies and procedures is another key aspect.</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Emphasizing the principles and rights enshrined in the 2014 Constitution, and international labor conventions and standards related to social protection, right to strike, collective bargaining, collective labor agreements, and lockouts.</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Developing and activating social dialogue mechanisms: including establishing a higher council for social dialogue, and launching the right to form union organizations to defend the interests of workers in all sectors, especially those working in the informal economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h3>
We hope that the legislator will build in the new labor law a philosophy that focuses on extending legal protection and the scope of application of labor legislation to include new work arrangements, allowing for full protection for all workers regardless of their sectors and contractual nature. In addition to responding to calls for the integration of gender into labor laws, and combating violence and harassment. This new philosophy should also fuel the development of the occupational safety and health inspection system, extending its reach to include work in the informal economy, empowering workers&rsquo; organizations and their representatives to defend workers&rsquo; rights, and enabling social dialogue and collective bargaining mechanisms to achieve stability and develop labor relations between workers and employers under state supervision.
<hr>
Additional references
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">Precarious work: In most cases, these jobs are characterized by low wages, poor job stability, poor working conditions, and little or no social protection. For more knowledge about the problems of precarious work, you can review this link:&nbsp;<a href="https://goo.su/JNytI">https://goo.su/JNytI</a></li>
<li dir="ltr">To learn about the agenda of the International Labor Conference regarding the fourth item on the agenda on protection from biological risks in the work environment, you can review the link:&nbsp;<a href="tps://goo.su/vNV5DA">tps://goo.su/vNV5DA</a></li>
<li dir="ltr">&nbsp;For more information about amendments to the Penal Code in cases of sexual harassment, see Amendments to Law 185 of 2023, published in the Official Gazette in Issue (48) bis dated December 4, 2023.</li>
<li dir="ltr">For more information about the 2014 Protocol to Convention No. 29 of 1930, related to forced labor, visit the following link:&nbsp;<a href="https://shorturl.at/cguBS">https://shorturl.at/cguBS</a></li>
<li dir="ltr">Decent work: is productive work that is performed in conditions where freedom, fairness, security, and human dignity prevail. It is also characterized by equality and parity between women and men. Decent work is at the intersection of the ILO's five strategic objectives: promoting rights at work, employment, social protection, social dialogue, and occupational safety and health.</li>
<li dir="ltr">The Global Alliance for Social Justice Initiative: is led by the International Labor Organization to strengthen multilateral cooperation, promote social justice at the global level, and accelerate progress towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The Global Alliance for Social Justice will provide a framework through which the ILO&rsquo;s constituent bodies, including governments, business owners and workers can increase global, regional, and national action to advance social justice for all, and call on policymakers and decision-making at all levels to prioritize social justice on the basis of social dialogue, and the need to increase investment. The initiative received strong support at the 111th session of the International Labor Conference in June 2023 and the ILO Governing body established the coalition in November 2023, bringing together more than 200 partners to date, including governments, workers&rsquo; and employers&rsquo; organizations and civil society, including a large number of partners from Arab countries. For more information about the developments of the Global Alliance for Social Justice:</li>
<li dir="ltr">https://webapps.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---</li>
<li dir="ltr">relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_912529.pdf-al</li>
<li dir="ltr">Non-standard employment relationships: Non-standard forms of employment is an umbrella term for various employment arrangements that deviate from standard employment. It includes temporary employment, part-time work, on-call work, temporary agency work, and other multilateral employment relationships, as well as dependent self-employment. Since work from home does not take place on the employer's premises, but rather at the worker's home or another location of his choice, it is also considered diverse work and non-standard employment occupies a prominent place on digital labor platforms. The increase in non-standard forms of employment in the past few decades has been driven by a variety of forces, including demographic shifts, labor market regimes, macroeconomic fluctuations, and technological changes. In some cases, this greater diversity of work arrangements has allowed a greater number of workers to integrate into the labor market, but it has also imposed challenges on working conditions and the performance of companies, as well as on the overall functioning of labor markets, economies, and societies. While digital labor platforms are a product of technological advancement, working on these platforms resembles many long-term work arrangements, with a digital tool merely serving as an intermediary.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Worst forms of child labor: The expression &ldquo;worst forms of child labor&rdquo; in the concept of Convention No. 182, 1999 of the International Labor Organization includes the following:</li>
</ul>
(a) All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, serfdom, and forced or compulsory labor, including the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) The use, procuring, or offering of a child for the purposes of prostitution, or the production or performance of pornographic works;
(c) The use, procuring, or offering of a child to engage in illicit activities, in particular, the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or moral character of children.
Social dialogue: any form of negotiation, consultation, or exchange of information between representatives of governments, workers, and employers - an essential element in promoting social and economic progress, ensuring decent work for all, building more productive and effective institutions, achieving better wages and working conditions, as well as peace and social justice.
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">Collective bargaining:&nbsp;<a href="https://goo.su/eaEJQ4t">https://goo.su/eaEJQ4t</a></li>
<li dir="ltr">For more information on digitalization at work, see the International Labor Organization report,</li>
<li dir="ltr">World Employment and Social Outlook: The Role of Digital Labor Platforms in Transforming the World of Work (2021), https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/-- -publ/documents/publication/wcms_771749.pdf For more information about</li>
<li dir="ltr">Convention No. 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, you can review the provisions of the Convention via the following link:</li>
<li dir="ltr">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/-">https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/-</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
References
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Assaad, R. (2023, January 3). Policy Note. International Labour Organization. Retrieved April 30, 2024, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---africa/---ro-abidjan/---sro-cairo/documents/publication/wcms_868758.pdf</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Benchmarking gender gaps, 2023 - Global Gender Gap Report 2023 | World Economic Forum. (2023, June 20). The World Economic Forum. Retrieved April 30, 2024, from https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/in-full/benchmarking-gender-gaps-2023/</li>
</ul>

آراء

Read Also