{"id":17381,"date":"2025-08-18T11:37:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T09:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=17381"},"modified":"2026-10-24T15:04:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T13:04:45","slug":"workers-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/workers-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Lives on Scaffolding, Rights on Paper: Egypt\u2019s Construction Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid the dust of bricks and the heat of cement, Ahmed Abdel Hamid, 42, begins his day in a merciless profession. He moves from one site to another, with no contract guaranteeing his rights and no means of protecting his body from danger. He is one of thousands of construction workers in Egypt who spend their lives on scaffolding, under the sun, facing danger, without a legal umbrella to shield them from falling or to rescue them when they are injured.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abdel Hamid, a pseudonym used at his request, lives in one of the areas of Greater Cairo and has worked for years in the construction and building sector, one of the most exhausting sectors and the least committed to safety standards. He spends long hours at changing sites, under the burden of harsh weather, between the heat of summer and the cold of winter, mixing cement, carrying bricks and climbing scaffolding without protective equipment, sufficient rest or health insurance that guarantees him treatment if he is injured.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the gruelling nature of the work and its high risks, Abdel Hamid, like thousands of other construction workers, does not enjoy any clear legal rights. Most of them work on a daily-wage basis, without documented contracts guaranteeing their wages or their compensation in the event of injury or death. The most basic occupational safety standards are also absent from the work environment, amid weak oversight and the absence of any role for unions or official bodies in defending their rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abdel Hamid says: “A worker’s daily wage ranges between EGP 150 and EGP 200, and transport comes out of that. We start our day at first light, and sometimes the work only finishes at 8 or 9 at night, especially if the site is in a far-off area.” He adds: “There are companies that insure their workers, but that is rare. Most of us work with contractors without insurance. If an injury happens, the contractor might help you or he might abandon you. And many of the injuries are serious, like falling from the scaffolding, and what comes after that is not always life.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The situation of those working with formal companies does not differ much from that of those working with subcontractors; the largest share of workers in this sector face the same fate: no insurance, no protection, and no body that obliges the employer to bear responsibility. This makes construction workers an extremely vulnerable group, economically and physically, within a system that turns a blind eye to them entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building and construction workers are classified within the category of irregular labour, which Labour Law No. <\/span>14<\/span><\/a> of 2025 defined as: “anyone who performs work that is non-permanent by its nature in return for a wage in whatever form, or who works in a profession or craft not regulated by a special law”, such as street vendors, newspaper distributors, construction workers and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Egyptian Ministry of Labour previously estimated the number of irregular workers at about <\/span>1,164,120<\/span><\/a> male and female workers, with Cairo topping the list of governorates attracting this group. In contrast, estimates by the Egyptian Trade Union Federation indicate that the real number ranges between 12 and 14 million, while other data, including what appeared in a World Bank <\/span>blog <\/span><\/a>post, estimate that more than 60% of the labour force in Egypt works within the informal sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Restrictions on workers’ rights place Egypt among the worst countries for trade union freedoms<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

From the Scaffold to the Return Home: A Life in Danger<\/b><\/h1>\n

“The one who falls and dies finds rest, but the one who comes back with a disability is lost in silence.” This is how Hamdy Mahmoud, head of the Independent Union of Building and Wood Workers, sums up the daily tragedy that construction workers in Egypt live through, as work on scaffolding and under the sun turns into an open battle with danger, without real protection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mahmoud, who lives in Alexandria governorate, says: “The working day is supposed to be 8 hours, from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, including an hour’s rest, but in reality the worker finishes work when the contractor decides.” Work obligations are often imposed by one party, the contractor, while the worker is left without protection or support.<\/span><\/p>\n

He adds that most workers work on a daily-wage basis, without formal contracts or any legal commitment from the employer. “If the worker gets ill or gets hurt at work, he usually doesn’t get paid,” Mahmoud says, pointing out that the absence of contracts leaves the worker at the mercy of exploitation and neglect, especially in cases of injury or illness.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Mahmoud, the wages of workers in the construction sector vary according to area and type of work, but they mostly do not exceed EGP 250 for an ordinary labourer, rising to about EGP 400 for a skilled tradesman. However, this wage does not reflect the full picture, as the “daily wage” includes the cost of transport and sometimes a meal, which makes the net daily income far lower than the effort expended.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the state of health care, Mahmoud affirms: “There is no health insurance, no social insurance and no protection from risks.” The paradox is that this absence is not limited to small projects or work with subcontractors, but also includes those working on huge projects belonging to major contracting companies, or even government projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Even the big companies working on state projects have no toilets, no places for the workers to rest and not a single first-aid point,” Mahmoud explains, criticising the absence of any real state oversight of work sites, or of any obligation on companies to provide a safe environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

He adds: “There is no office that follows up on the workers and their safety, or that makes sure occupational safety requirements are applied.” Although he is head of the Independent Union of Building and Wood Workers, Mahmoud points to clear restrictions on independent union work. He says: “The state does not support independent unions; rather, it prevents us from providing any real service to the workers.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In a press <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> last May, Abdel Moneim El-Gamal, head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, explained that irregular workers have begun to enter the umbrella of social insurance and comprehensive health insurance, in accordance with the new Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, which explicitly stipulates the rights of irregular workers and the necessity of integrating them into the protection umbrella.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Workers’ safety in Egypt: between absent oversight and recurring fatal accidents<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Outside the Social Insurance Umbrella<\/b><\/h1>\n

“Insurance contributions are paid by the companies, but the workers do not benefit.” With this phrase, Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services, sums up one of the most prominent problems facing informal labour in the building and construction sector in Egypt, where insurance contributions are collected, yet protection remains absent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbas explains that there is an existing system that obliges the owners of real estate projects to pay insurance contributions for a number of workers as a condition for obtaining a building permit. He says: “If a building requires a permit, insurance for 30 workers is a condition. The owner does actually pay these contributions, but who are these 30? In many cases the names are fictitious, or belong to people other than the workers actually on site.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Although these contributions enter the coffers of the insurance units, the real worker on the scaffolding, whether he is injured or dies while working, does not obtain any of his rights, simply because he is not officially registered, and there is no body that carries out an accurate count of the actual workers on each project.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbas considers that the absence of the state’s oversight role, particularly through the Ministry of Labour, is one of the main factors aggravating this crisis. He adds: “The ministry needs restructuring, and at the top of its priorities should be organising informal labour and turning it into labour that is actually insured.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He affirms that this labour force can be reached easily: “We know the sites of the major projects, such as the Administrative Capital and the national projects, and work cards could be issued that specify each worker’s place of work and document the duration of their work, their wage and their insurance rights, in addition to the role of the unions in the process of counting and registering the workers.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbas points out that the state has provided billions of pounds under the heading of “support for irregular labour”, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, when direct financial support of EGP 500 per worker was announced. But he adds: “This support reached only 1.2 million workers, according to official estimates, out of the real number of irregular workers, which may exceed 13 million workers.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He adds that the weakness of the official database, and the absence of periodic updating of it, obstruct any efforts to direct support or extend the social protection umbrella to those actually entitled to it. Abbas criticises the weakness of the labour inspection system, saying: “The inspectors do not visit work sites. They make do with taking data from the companies, but the reality in the field is completely different, and the violations range from the very first unregistered worker to the absence of safety procedures on the ground.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Article 17 of the Constitution stipulated: “The state guarantees the provision of social insurance services. Every citizen who does not enjoy the social insurance system has the right to social security in a manner that guarantees them a decent life if they are unable to support themselves and their family, and in cases of incapacity to work, old age and unemployment. The state works to provide an appropriate pension for small farmers, agricultural workers, fishermen and irregular labour, in accordance with the law.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Strike by the workers of Wabariyat Samanoud: demands for the minimum wage amid a campaign of arrests<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Commodity Without Protection… and Comprehensive Health Insurance as a Tool to Integrate Them<\/b><\/h1>\n

In September 2018, the Ministry of Health issued a ministerial <\/span>decree<\/span><\/a> providing for the application of the health insurance system to workers in contracting, construction and building, quarries and salt works, the groups most exposed to occupational hazards in the labour market. The decree, signed by the then Minister of Health, Dr Hala Zayed, came in response to presidential directives to expand the social protection umbrella to include irregular labour.<\/span>
\n<\/span> Despite the promises the decree carried of insuring the lives of millions of workers, its practical application remained limited on the ground, amid gaps in registration mechanisms, weak coordination between ministries and the absence of an accurate database of the targeted workers, which kept many outside the insurance umbrella<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Alaa Ghannam, director of the Right to Health Programme at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), says that the crisis of irregular labour, including construction workers, is the absence of accurate data or a comprehensive census system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking to Zawia3, Ghannam adds that these workers usually work on a daily-wage basis, without any form of social or health protection, and are entirely subject to the laws of the market and of supply and demand, as the contractors control working conditions and wages. “These people are treated as a commodity; they have no real insurance cover, and they are exposed to severe health risks because of the gruelling nature of their work, foremost among them work injuries,” Ghannam adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

He points out that the comprehensive health insurance plan, as it was drawn up, aims to integrate irregular workers and their families into the system by establishing associations or unions to represent them, registering them with the Ministry of Manpower, and then deducting a percentage of their wages, through the contractors, for health and social insurance contributions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ghannam explains that the current comprehensive health insurance law is based on the idea of “family insurance”, and therefore allows every Egyptian family, including irregular workers, to join the system simply by presenting a national ID card. After that, the state assesses individuals’ ability to pay contributions. If it is established that they are unable to pay, the state bears the cost on their behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ghannam considers that this mechanism, despite the gaps that beset its application, most prominently the weakness of counting and of real statistics, represents a real opportunity to integrate this segment into the framework of formal health protection, and is a step within a broader process of financial and social inclusion. He explains: “We are facing a tool that can guarantee this group health care of equal quality, without discrimination, according to their place of residence and their living conditions.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Earning a living under the sun’s rays: unprotected risks for delivery workers in Egypt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The New Labour Law<\/b><\/h1>\n

Article (77) of Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 stipulates the obligation of the competent administrative authority to count and register irregular workers, according to their classification and categories, in paper or electronic registers prepared for this purpose. The same article also requires the preparation of national databases for these groups and their linking to the various state bodies, in coordination with the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) and the National Organization for Social Insurance, with the competent minister to issue the rules and procedures regulating this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Article (78), for its part, provides for the establishment of an independent fund known as the “Fund for Emergency Benefits and Social and Health Services for Irregular Labour”, which enjoys public legal personality and reports to the competent minister.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Article (79) of the same law, this fund undertakes a number of tasks, among them: paying emergency benefits to irregular workers in cases of general economic crises, disasters or epidemics; providing social and health services; supporting treatment expenses; and contributing to the payment of social insurance contributions, in coordination with the Ministries of Finance and Social Solidarity and the National Organization for Social Insurance, and to the extent that the fund’s resources allow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the clarity of the legal texts and their inclusion of explicit provisions relating to the social, health and organisational protection of irregular workers, the application of these articles faces a clear gap, as the labour researcher Hassan El-Barbary points out. El-Barbary notes that the building and construction sector operates largely outside the formal framework, which means that huge numbers of workers have no files or records with government bodies, making it difficult to actually bring them into the protection system established by law.<\/span><\/p>\n

El-Barbary says: “The Ministry of Manpower has repeatedly pledged to count irregular workers, but it has not succeeded in doing so in a comprehensive or accurate way,” adding that the lack of organisational and union awareness among construction workers multiplies their vulnerability, as there are no entities that genuinely represent them or convey their demands.<\/span><\/p>\n

He continues: “The hazards that construction workers are exposed to, especially work injuries, are not matched by effective protection mechanisms,” pointing to the existence of an insurance policy announced by the state in 2019 worth no more than EGP 9,000, but most workers, according to him, did not feel its existence, owing to its vagueness and the failure to activate it on a clear scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, El-Barbary explains that the current labour regulations do not guarantee an effective minimum wage in the construction sector, nor do they apply strict oversight of the payment of wages or end-of-service entitlements, which leaves workers in a weak position vis-\u00e0-vis employers, especially in private projects or those run through subcontractors.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the course of his remarks, El-Barbary offers an example from reality, saying: “In the height of the August heat, workers were painting the wall of Cairo University without any equipment or means of safety, just putting cardboard boxes on their heads to shield themselves from the sun.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite the legislative amendments and official statements regarding the integration of irregular workers into the social protection system, a large segment of construction workers in Egypt remains outside any actual regulatory framework, working in conditions that do not provide the minimum of safety, without contracts, insurance or real union representation. Between the legal texts and daily practice, the gap persists, awaiting something that goes beyond announcement to application.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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