Egypt's House of Representatives passed on Tuesday a controversial civil service law which it had approved in July but was referred to State Council for revision.
After the start of the second legislative session, 401 out of 433 MPs approved the law, while 26 MPs rejected it and six abstained, according to parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al.
The law will now be referred to the president for ratification and publishing in the official state gazette in accordance with the constitution and parliament’s bylaws.
The new law, proposed by government, is meant to reform civil service and regulate the performance of around 6.3 million employees in state departments and public authorities.
However, many state employees, labour unions and rights activists say the legislation would destroy long held rights such as job security and can put thousands of government workers out of work.
The law had been rejected by parliament in January and was returned to the parliamentary committee on labour issues so it can be reviewed and have its controversial articles modified.
The articles mostly contested in parliament were those regulating salaries. The articles were then modified to increase annual salaries of state and government employees from 5 to 7 percent.
The law as approved, however, remains controversial outside parliament.
Many state employees and labour unions organised protests against the law since it was initially proposed.
