Ali Abdel Aal criticizes absence of MPs from session

CAIRO – 8 November 2017: The speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, Ali Abdel Aal, criticized on Wednesday the absence of the members of the parliament from the general session, describing it as dull.

Abdel Aal pointed out that the attendance was regular at the beginning of the sessions, adding that a member in the American congress asks for permission to attend the voting sessions due to their importance.

Wednesday’s session will continue discussing the government's draft law on trade unions and the protection of the union’s organization, a topic that has taken more than five sessions.

The Trade Union Organization draft law sparked a lot of controversy in the parliament when it was first discussed in October.

The draft law, presented by MP Abdel Fatah Mohamed and ten fellow members, aims to amend law No. 35 of 1978.

The parliament's Manpower Committee held a meeting to discuss the draft law, witnessing a debate between the members of the committee, their leader Gibali al-Maraghi, the legal advisor of the General Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions Hosni Saad and representatives from the Ministry of Manpower.

The debate ended with the cancellation of requiring the Egyptian nationality for acquiring a membership in the union.