Joining Their Demands: Head of the Journalists’ Syndicate Challenges Constitutionality of Pension Suspension for Female Journalists Listed as Active Members
On April 6, 2025, the Third Individuals Circuit of the Administrative Court reserved for judgment several lawsuits filed by female journalists against the decision of the Chair of the National Organization for Social Insurance to suspend their entitled pensions. The suspension was based on the claim that it is impermissible to receive a pension while being listed as an active member of the Journalists’ Syndicate. The court set May 25, 2025, as the date for issuing its ruling.
During the session, a representative of the Head of the Journalists’ Syndicate joined the female journalists’ claims, supporting their right to receive the pension and contesting the constitutionality of the decision issued by the Social Insurance Authority.
The lawyer from the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights—the legal representative of the plaintiffs—argued in the lawsuit that Paragraph (4), Section (Second), Article 2 of Law No. 148 of 2019 on Social Insurance, which served as the legal basis for the decision, is unconstitutional. Specifically, the lawyer challenged the inclusion of the phrase “and members of professional syndicates,” asserting that it contravenes Articles 8, 17, 76, 77, and 94 of the 2014 Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
He pointed out that the inclusion of the phrase “and members of professional syndicates” in the aforementioned provision represents a sweeping generalization that may not be applicable to all professional syndicates or to the specific nature of the professions they regulate. He argued that the legislature should have considered the unique characteristics of each profession and its relationship with its respective syndicate, and should have assessed whether syndicate membership alone constitutes conclusive evidence of employment and income—thus justifying pension suspension—on a case-by-case basis.
Furthermore, he noted that the legislature, particularly in the present disputes, failed to take into account the specific nature of journalism as a profession and the unique relationship between journalists and the Journalists’ Syndicate.
The Center’s lawyer emphasized that the Egyptian legislature has demonstrated a commitment to guaranteeing the full spectrum of social solidarity mechanisms and access to social insurance services. He highlighted that every citizen not covered by a social insurance scheme is entitled to social security. He also stressed that the Constitution affirms the independence of professional syndicates and mandates that their governance, membership registration, and disciplinary procedures be regulated by law.
