Egypt's new draft labor law provides advantages, guarantees for working women

CAIRO - 6 January 2025: The draft labor law submitted by the Egyptian government to the House of Representatives, and presented to the Manpower Committee of the House for discussion, includes many advantages and guarantees to protect working women.

 

The draft labor law includes a chapter entitled "Employment of Women", which specifies guarantees and rights for working women, as follows:

 

1 - All provisions regulating the employment of workers shall apply to working women, without discrimination between them, provided that their working conditions are similar.

 

2 - The competent minister shall issue - after taking the opinion of both the National Council for Women and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood - a decision specifying the conditions, occasions, times, and jobs in which women may not be employed.

 

3 - A female worker has the right to obtain maternity leave for a period of four months, including the period before and after childbirth, provided that the period of this leave after childbirth is not less than 45 days. This leave shall be paid, and a female worker shall not be entitled to this leave more than twice throughout her service.

 

4 - It is prohibited to dismiss a female worker or terminate her service during maternity leave.

 

5 - The employer may deprive her of compensation for her wages that he is obligated to pay during the leave period or recover what was paid thereof, if it is proven that she worked for others during the leave, without prejudice to disciplinary accountability.

 

6 - A female worker who breastfeeds her child during the two years following the date of delivery shall have the right, in addition to the prescribed rest period, to two additional periods for breastfeeding, each of which shall not be less than half an hour. The female worker shall have the right to combine these two periods, and these two additional periods shall be calculated from the working hours and shall not result in any reduction in wages.

 

7 - A female worker in an establishment that employs 25 or more workers shall have the right to obtain unpaid leave for a period not exceeding two years, in order to care for her child. She shall not be entitled to this leave more than three times throughout her service period.

 

8 - A female worker may terminate her employment contract due to her marriage, pregnancy, or childbirth, provided that she notifies the employer in writing of her desire to do so within three months from the date of concluding the marriage contract, or proving the pregnancy, or from the date of delivery, as the case may be.

 

9 - In the event that the employer employs female workers, he must post a copy of the Women's Employment System in the workplace or in the workers' assembly.

 

10 - An employer who employs one hundred or more female workers in one place must establish a nursery, or entrust a nursery to care for the children of female workers, under the terms and conditions determined by a decision of the competent minister.