Is a safety committee or a worker safety representative required in Egypt?

Yes. Establishments with 50 or more workers must form an occupational safety and health (OSH) committee under Ministerial Decree No. 134 of 2003, issued under the labour law and still applied under Article 259 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025. Half of its members are workers chosen by the trade union, it meets at least monthly and within 48 hours of a serious accident, and its decisions bind the establishment. Egyptian law does not create a separate individual "safety representative" role like the EU or UK.

Short answer

• Threshold: 50 or more workers on one site, or across the branches of one establishment in the same governorate (Decree 134, Arts. 1 and 5).
• Members: the employer or managing director (chair), department heads, the civil defence and fire officer, the establishment doctor if any, the chief OSH officer (member and rapporteur), and an equal number of workers chosen by the trade union committee.
• Meetings: at least once a month, and within 48 hours of a serious accident or a confirmed occupational disease (Art. 7).
• Decisions: binding on the establishment (Labour Law, Art. 259).
• Notification: names of members go to the OSH office of the labour directorate when the committee is formed or changes (Art. 6).
• Multi-site companies: a central committee at head office meets every three months (Art. 13).

How the committee is formed

Article 259 of the 2025 law lets the minister decide which establishments must have OSH units and committees, gives the committees the task of studying working conditions and the causes of accidents and injuries and setting rules to prevent them, and makes their decisions binding. Until a new decree is published, Decree 134 of 2003 sets the details (Art. 11 of the issuing law keeps it in force where it does not conflict).

Under Article 5 of the decree, the committee is made up of:

How it works

• Quorum: a majority of members, including at least one worker representative and one management representative. Without a quorum the meeting is postponed by 48 hours and then valid with any number present (Art. 8).
• Votes: majority of those present; in a tie, the side of the chair prevails (Art. 8).
• Agenda: members send proposals in writing to the rapporteur at least one week before the meeting (Art. 9).
• Register: minutes go into a special register with pages numbered and stamped by the labour directorate, signed by the chair, the rapporteur and a worker representative, and kept available to inspectors (Art. 10).
• Inspector: the rapporteur informs the directorate of meeting dates; the OSH inspector must attend at least two meetings a year (Art. 11).
• Absence: a member absent three times in a row without excuse is replaced (Art. 12).

The committee's tasks include organising the OSH unit, studying the causes of serious accidents, injuries and occupational diseases, following risk analysis and emergency planning, hazardous materials management and the selection of safe equipment.

Below 50 workers and individual representatives

Below 50 workers no committee is required; the employer or a person he delegates is responsible for meeting OSH requirements (Decree 134, Art. 4). The 2025 law defines a "labour delegate" (المفوض العمالي), a worker whom the staff authorise by an official document to represent them before the employer where there is no trade union (Art. 1). In Book Four he appears only in agreeing meal arrangements for remote sites (Art. 271); the law gives him no specific OSH powers. Consulting workers is still good practice in small firms.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Egypt: law, authorities and employer duties
• Must an employer in Egypt appoint a safety professional or physician?
• Health and safety committee threshold by country
• How to run an effective safety committee meeting

Standards and further reading

• Ministerial Decree No. 134 of 2003, Part Two, Arts. 5 to 13, Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya No. 172 (supplement), 2 August 2003: https://manshurat.org/node/12136
• Law No. 14 of 2025 issuing the Labour Law, Art. 1 (definitions) and Art. 259: https://manshurat.org/content/qnwn-lml-ljdyd-rqm-14-lsn-2025

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.