Cover page
Name: Tamer Moustafa
Date: 14-11-2015
Subject HR
Topic : Legal issues and employee well being
title: Calendar

Introduction:
With the industrial revolution entering the Arab world, Egypt developed the first employment regulation
in the year 1909 for under age workers who worked in Cotton mills .and from that date an increased need
to employment regulations and laws has developed.
Main Analysis:
In the late thirties and early forties launched a broad wave of struggle Labor to form a general trade
union federation, Although there is no law of trade unions, ended with the issuance of a number of
important legislation; the Law No. 85 for the year 1942 organized by trade unions and the law of
compulsory insurance for accidents at work and, finally, the issuance of individual Labor Law No. 41 of
1944. Then in July 1952 issued the Unified Labor Law No. 91 of 1959. the issuance of laws that reflected
the rising trend of bias blatant for the rich (business owners) after president Sadat adopted a system of
savage capitalism, and the most prominent of these laws: Law No. 47 of 1978 civil servants in the country,
Law No. 48 of 1978 for workers in the public sector, Labor Law No. 137 of 1981 for workers in the private
sector, in the era of deposed Mubarak, who canceled the Law No. 91 of 1959.,Law 203 of 1991, which
referred the public sector workers who have converted to the business sector to work in Law No. 137 of
1981 after they were sentenced to Law No. 48 of 1978.,Law No. 12 of 2003 for workers and the private
sector, public business sector, which abolished labor law No. 137 of 1981.,The new law (2003) comprises
articles that address all the legal aspects regulating the Egyptian labor market..Being the most recent
labor law , I d like to spot some areas about it.
1* Employment discrimination and workplace safety
The Egyptian Labor Law N.12 for the year 2003 protects employees against all forms of discrimination.
More specifically, Article 35 of the aforementioned law prohibits any discrimination on the basis of gender,
origin, language, religion or other personal belief.
In addition to Law 12/ 2003, protection of workers against hazardous processes, machinery and equipment,
hazardous chemical, physical and biological agents are regulated by 3 major decrees, No. 126, No. 211 and
No. 134.
2** Governance and relationships between employers and employees including the use of collective
bargaining agreements or labor unions.
The law N.12 for the year 2003 allows and regulates collective bargaining procedures in compliance with
international labor standards. Despite the enactment of the after mentioned law in 2003 .its entry into force
has only taken place after the Egyptian revolution in 2011.
After the 2011 Egyptian revolution, trade unions were endowed with rights and prerogatives as provided
for under various International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions and other international treaties.
These rights include, among others, the following: The right to strike and to organize strikes, The right to
freely organize themselves (as trade unions), The right to pursue and engage in collective bargaining .
3*** Wages and benefits requirements.
Article 34 of Labor Law defines about the minimum wages (Labour Law Act No. 12/2003)

there is only one minimum wage declared by the government which is at national level and
determined by National Council for Wages which is 1200 LE. .,Minimum wage is based on 8
hours per day - five-day workweek. Or 6-day work week, 7 hours per day (42-hour working week
is standard).
Only for Egyptian workers these benefits apply: social security system that includes pensions,
disability payments ,sickness payments, maternity and death allowances and unemployment
insurance .Medical insurance also is a benefit that is given to both Egyptian and non-Egyptian
workers .Also annual increment and overtime pay are benefits given to both Egyptians and non-
Egyptians.
4**** Employee hiring, training and termination..
Upon hiring a work permit is required for foreigners who intend to work in Egypt. the employer is
allowed to employ the employees on probation for up to three months and the employment
contract may be either for a definite or an indefinite period of time.
Law has introduced detailed provisions concerning vocational training, including the creation of a
fund for financing this training, which is partially funded by 1% of the net profit of the
establishment subject of this Law which employs more than ten employees.
Dismissal for cause (or justified termination) requires, the lodging of a claim before the competent court
(labor commission). Where the employer dismisses an employee without cause, no special formalism is
required as long as the process is not vexatious to the employee. In such a case, the employee can have
recourse to the court to claim damages for unlawful termination of contract and, possibly, for moral
damages when the termination process is deemed vexatious or humiliating.
Inference:
***Do the laws and regulations favor employers, employees ?
This new law aims at increasing the private sector involvement and at the same time achieving a balance
between employees and employers rights .one of the most important issues that the new law addresses is
the right of an employer to fire an employee and the conditions pertaining to this as well as granting
employees the right to carry out a peaceful strike according to controls and procedures prescribed in the
new law.
***what is the impact of the laws and regulations on organizational ability to employ strategic human
resource management principles in the management of human capital?
The labor law aims at increasing flexibility in the labor market by providing comprehensive guidelines for
the recruitment, hiring, compensation, and termination of employees. In particular, it provides increased
flexibility for firms in the hiring/firing process which has been a major bottleneck for job creation in the
Egyptian labor market. Even though this labor law shows some progress, it is clear that there is a need for
further changes in taxes and social security systems to enable it to become more effective. Further reforms
such as reducing the social security contribution by employers and workers will help create and formalize
jobs. However, policymakers must recognize that labor regulation is only one part of the broader economic
policy framework. Its interaction with the regulation of product markets, macroeconomic policy, and the
business investment climate will determine the overall labor market performance.

References:
1- Samy B. (1960) A look at labor law . [online] Available from : http://al-
hakawati.net/arabic/civilizations/raedindexc1.asp [Accessed date 14/11/2014]
2- The revolutionary socialists (n.d.) Q&A about labor law. [online] Available from :
http://revsoc.me/publications/33511/33521/ [Accessed date 14/11/2014]
3- ICLG.CO.UK (2015) EGYPT Employment and labor law 2015. [online] Available from :
http://www.iclg.co.uk/practice-areas/employment-and-labour-law/employment-and-
labour-law-2015/egypt#chaptercontent1 [Accessed date 14/11/2014]
4- International business publications (2014) Egypt labor laws and regulations handbook.
[online] Available from :
https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=DoWwBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=Egy
ptian+labor+laws+history&source=bl&ots=wt_deyxO9T&sig=EdZwYP7zRzWa4FEzSX0xO
1zxduM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBGoVChMI9sKY2cmPyQIVg9saCh0gjAUV#v=one
page&q=Egyptian%20labor%20laws%20history&f=false [Accessed date 14/11/2014]
5- Gehad A. Aboelata (2005) Occupational safety and health in Egypt National profile
[online] Available from : http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---
protrav/---safework/documents/policy/wcms_187043.pdf [Accessed date 14/11/2014]
6- Kosheri, Rashed & Riad (2004) The New Egyptian Labor Law. [online] Available from :
http://www.legal500.com/c/egypt/developments/459 [Accessed date 14/11/2014]
7- Fayez A. (2014) Labor Law Reforms and Labor Market Performance in Egypt.[online]
Available from :
http://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Forschungseinrichtungen/ifvwl/Worki
ngPapers/wp_314_Upload.pdf [Accessed date 14/11/2014]