President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi marked Labor Day on Saturday by ratifying a new labor law, hailing it as a "qualitative leap" in safeguarding workers’ rights, despite criticism the legislation faced during its drafting and parliamentary approval.
Speaking at a ceremony hosted by Suez Steel Company in the industrial city of Suez, El-Sisi said the law, approved by parliament in April, "ensures clear gains for workers, reinforces protections and justice, affirms the rightful status of working women, strengthens job security, and aligns with international labor conventions."
He framed the law as a cornerstone in creating a stable, balanced labor environment aligned with the government’s "New Republic" vision—a term often used to describe Egypt’s post-2014 political and economic transformation.
Despite government praise, the law has drawn criticism from both union representatives and labor rights advocates. Abdel Monem Elgamal, Head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, said it curtails the influence of organized labor and weakens the federation’s role.
Similarly, Kamal Abbas, Director of the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services, called for urgent amendments to the law, particularly on issues of wages, short-term contracts, strike regulations, job security, and protections against arbitrary dismissal.
Their concerns echo those raised in February by the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR). In its report, ECESR warned that the legislation fails to strike a fair balance between workers’ rights and business interests, despite a few modest improvements.
The report also noted that several provisions favor employers by diluting their responsibilities toward employees and providing insufficient mechanisms to ensure job stability. Particularly controversial is a clause that slashes the mandatory annual pay raise from 7 percent to 3 percent of base salary.
ECESR considers this cut to be an erosion of what it describes as an acquired right, especially given the declining purchasing power of the Egyptian pound.
In his speech, El-Sisi also instructed the government to finalize a long-stalled bill regulating domestic work—a sector long excluded from legal protections—and to begin a "community dialogue" on its provisions.
Additionally, he called for "an expansion of social protection schemes to cover informal workers, including the provision of death benefits," also announcing a new initiative to provide free vocational training for young people based on market needs.
Concluding, El-Sisi stressed the "urgency of resolving labor-related legal cases without delay," promising to establish a permanent committee to oversee the rollout of Egypt’s upcoming National Employment Strategy.
