Egypt – After a long debate the House of Representatives approved the Civil Service Law, which it had previously rejected in February. The parliament approved two long-debated articles, which regulate an annual incentive and the appointment of temporary and seasonal employees or workers. The parliament also approved an annual salary increment of 7%, instead of 5%. Labour unions have rejected the new percentage, as it does not account for the rate of inflation in accordance with the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) estimates.
The session also saw discussions of amendments to other articles about imposing penalties on employees, as a number of MPs criticized the plurality of these articles and demanded mitigation. Labour unions have attempted to pass self-drafted Civil Service Law amendments on to parliament, but those have been consistently rejected.
The Civil Service Law was initially rejected in February for a number of reasons, mainly due to its unconstitutionality. Its first article states exceptions for certain governmental authorities from implementing the law. It was resubmitted to parliament later in February, following the harsh amendments by the ministries of finance and planning to prohibit financial bonuses.
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