Cairo: Whether in biting cold or sizzling summer, Saleh Al Janubi cannot afford taking a day off from his job.
He flocks every morning to a place in the upmarket Cairo quarter of Nasr City to wait for an employer to pick him along with other casual workers to do a day-long job in the field of construction.
“I can do wall-painting, assist in building destroy unwanted walls and remove the resulting rubble,” Al Janubi, a father of four, said.
Being a casual worker, Al Janubi or a southerner, a nickname referring to his hometown in poor South Egypt, he has no medical insurance or a pension after retirement.
“When sickness forces me to stay at home, this is a big problem for my family,” the 35-year-older said. “No-one would give me a pound. Everything is getting more expensive in this country except the poor.”
When asked about his wish on the May Day, he says: “To live like humans.”
Al Janubi is one of an estimated 15 million irregular workers, who according to independent studies, account for around 57 per cent of Egypt’s workforce.
The government says it is seeking to cover this labour category with a social safety net.
The government also says it is trying to secure the re-opening of factories crippled by four years of unrest and economic sluggishness that followed the 2011 ouster of long-time president Husni Mubarak in a popular uprising.
Egypt has also been hit by a wave of labour strikes demanding better wages in recent years.
At a Labour Day ceremony held on Monday and attended by President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, the independent Egyptian Federation of General Trade Unions pledged to stop strikes to help in economic recovery.
A day later, an Egyptian court criminalized sit-ins by public employees at workplaces, a ruling that has angered the nation’s labour community.
The Higher Administrative Court sent three civil servants to early retirement after they staged a sit-in at their provincial municipality office to demand the dismissal of their boss.
The tribunal said such stoppages disrupt public services and prevent them from delivering services to the people.
The court explained that its decision is based on an Islamic Sharia rule that makes warding off harms take precedence over getting benefits.
Egypt’s constitution stipulates that the Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation in this mostly Muslim country. The charter, approved last year, also provides for the “right to peaceful strike”.
“Is this the proper gift to workers on The Labour Day? It had not happened before that an employee is sacked because of going on a strike,” said Hamed Sultan, a labour activist. “How should unpaid workers behave? If this ruling is applied , then all Egyptian employees will find themselves out of work,” he added.
“Such practices fuel labour protests instead of halting them.”
Agreeing, Sa’ad Sha’aban, another labour activist, called the ruling “disappointing”.
“It is an indication that the situation in the country is going back. This ruling violates the constitution and international conventions ratified by Egypt, which guarantees the right to a peaceful strike,” Shaban said. “Penalties have never stopped workers from demanding their rights.”
The Egyptian Federation of General Trade Unions said it would appeal the verdict.
Fifteen Egyptian rights groups, meanwhile, said in a statement they would take legal steps to defend employees’ right to strike “without any restrictions.”
