The New Trade Union Law: Further Restricting Workers’ Right to Organize

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

The counter-revolutionary forces are tightening their grip on all forms of mass organizations by pushing forward a new law to take control of independent unions. This move is designed to bring back the government-controlled union—or, more accurately, the arm of the capitalist class within the labor movement—as the sole representative of workers.

It’s no surprise that parliament has given initial approval to the trade union bill, taking advantage of the current climate of security crackdowns, the decline in worker struggles, and the international community’s willingness to look the other way.

This law, which essentially dismantles trade unions, is a severe violation that undermines workers’ right to form their unions without prior authorization and gives the government the power to interfere.
For example, the new law gives legal recognition to the “government” union and forces independent unions formed after 2011 to regularize their status under this law’s tough and nearly impossible conditions.
When it comes to local union committees, the law requires at least 250 workers, which effectively bars millions of workers in smaller establishments from forming their unions.

Additionally, the law gives the government the power to interfere in union affairs and even dissolve them. Union leaders could face prison time, as the law allows the relevant minister or any interested party to request the labor court to dissolve a union’s board of directors.

The law also allows the judiciary to meddle in union matters and threatens anyone involved in founding or running a labor organization that doesn’t comply with this law with imprisonment.

Moreover, the law removes the age limit for union leadership, allowing Mubarak-era figures and other corrupt individuals to stay in power within the unions.

For all these reasons, the Revolutionary Socialists Movement strongly opposes this law, which aims to give investors—whether they’re military generals or Arab and foreign businessmen—the green light to maximize their profits by exploiting a workforce that’s paid poverty wages and stripped of any real organizations to defend their rights. The law also seeks to bring back the government union as the sole voice of the labor movement, something the regime needs as it gears up for the upcoming presidential elections, especially since Sisi still doesn’t have a political party. It didn’t take long for the government union to declare its support for Sisi’s bid for a second term, backing all of the regime’s anti-poor policies.
The Revolutionary Socialists Movement believes that Egypt’s workers will reclaim their independent, democratic, and mass organizations once the struggle against poverty, exploitation, and oppression reignites, drawing on the extensive experience they’ve gained from years of previous battles. The movement also stresses that repressive laws have never stopped people from organizing protests to fight for their rights.