Egypt sets 20K fine as penalty for discrimination between employees on grounds of religion, gender

CAIRO – 28 June 2022: A legislation on draft labor law was approved by the Egyptian Senate, aiming to achieve balance and justice between parties of the work.

The law seeks also to establish the principle of linking wages to production, to reassure the national and foreign investor, and motivate the worker to make an effort to maximize his productivity.

The legislation included the treatment of freedom-related crimes such as forced labor, by stipulating that the employer is prohibited from employing the worker as forced labor.

Article (6) stipulates that every act, behavior or procedure that would cause discrimination between workers in terms of work, rights and duties set in the contract based on religion, color, race, language, gender, belief, origin, disability, social level, political or geographic affiliation, or any reason that violates the principle of equality, is prohibited.

The legislation further stipulates a stiffening penalty for anyone who commits a crime of forced labor or discrimination based on religion, or gender, with a fine of no less than two thousand pounds and not more than 20 thousand pounds.