§ 101. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Minister of Labour what reply he has made to the official protest to the International Labour Office, Geneva, about the alleged use of forced labour by British military authorities in Egypt, made by the Egyptian Minister of Social Affairs and the representative of the Egyptian trade unions.
§ Sir W. MoncktonA formal statement rejecting the Egyptian allegations in their entirety was submitted by the United Kingdom Government representative on the governing body to the Director-General of the International Labour Office on 16th November on behalf of His Majesty's Government. His Majesty's Government's statement clearly places the responsibility for the present situation in the Suez Canal Zone upon the widespread campaign of intimidation againt Egyptian labour working for the British Forces, which is being conducted with the encouragement of the Egyptian Government. This statement is set out below.
His Majesty's Government have also indicated their willingness to give every facility for a representative of the Director-General of the International Labour Office to ascertain the facts by visiting the Canal area if the Egyptian Government would be prepared to invite the Director-General to send a representative for this purpose. On the authorisation of the governing body, the Director-General approached the Egyptian Government accordingly. That Government has since issued an invitation and it has been announced that the Director-General has appointed Mr. Raghunath Rao, Assistant Director- 301W General of the I.L.O., to carry out the investigation.
Following is the statement:
Complaint by Egyptian Minister of Social Affairs
Statement by United Kingdom Government
His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have noted the contents of the telegram from the Egyptian Minister of Social Affairs to the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation alleging the use of forced labour by the British military authorities in the area of the Suez Canal.
His Majesty's Government reject these allegations as being completely unfounded and a deliberate travesty of the truth, clearly designed for propaganda purposes.
The telegram alleges that Egyptian workers employed by the British Military authorities are being prevented from leaving their place of work and that they have been deprived of access to normal means of communication to their places of origin. This is entirely untrue. No Egyptian worker has at any time been prevented from leaving his place of work or from leaving the Canal area.
Passenger trains have been prevented for security reasons from entering or leaving the area, in order to check attempts at infiltration by terrorist elements. Movement by road is, however, entirely free and a considerable number of Egyptian workers have left the area by this means. They have done so as a result of a campaign of intimidation and victimisation which is largely inspired and conducted by police officials as well as hooligan elements who are tolerated and encouraged by the Egyptian authorities.
The Egyptian Government with complete disregard for the welfare of the civilian population concerned are, thus, conniving in this campaign which is disrupting the civilian life of the area and has driven many thousands of workers and their families to leave their homes in panic and penury. Intimidation is being extended to the families in Cairo and Alexandria of workers who have remained at their posts, and even to shop keepers in the Suez Canal area who have been threatened by members of well-known terrorist organisations with violence if they dare to sell goods to members of the British Forces and their families.
It is further alleged that the British military authorities are forcibly interning Egyptian workers and compelling them to work under threat of their lives. No Egyptian workers have at any time been interned in British military camps. A number of workers have spontaneously asked for and been granted sanctuary in British camps in order to escape from intimidation and physical violence by terrorists and Egyptian police. Such workers have always been free to leave at their own wish and some of them have since done so. In certain cases armed guards have been provided to protect them at their work from attempts by terrorist or other irresponsible elements to interfere with them or to do them bodily harm.
It is further alleged that civilians are being kidnapped by armed parties and compelled to 302W work in British military camps. It is categorically denied that any Egyptian civilian has ever been forcibly removed for work, or in any way constrained to work for the British Forces in Egypt.
It is alleged that Egyptian police officers and men have been interned and maltreated because they refused to compel Egyptian workers to work for the British forces. The true situation is that the British military authorities have deported from the area a number of police officials who were found to be participating actively in the intimidation of workers.
The total number of persons which it has been found necessary to remove so far is 11 police officials and 25 civilians. In every case the Egyptian authorities have themselves been invited, and have refused, to take the necessary action, after the British military authorities have satisfied themselves beyond all reasonable doubt that the person concerned was guilty of intimidation. All persons thus deported have been handed over to the Egyptian security forces on the outskirts of the area.
The charges that the conduct of the British military authorities has infringed the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, the Declaration of Philadelphia and International Labour Convention No. 29 relating to forced labour are thus completely without foundation. Indeed, if there has been any infringement of such principles, it lies in the campaign of intimidation and victimisation which has been directed against the many thousands of innocent Egyptians whose livelihood has depended on the employment provided by the British Forces in Egypt.
His Majesty's Government are proud of their record as employers of labour in Egypt, where they provide conditions of work and wages which compare favourably with conditions elsewhere in the country.
His Majesty's Government are also proud of their record of support for the efforts of the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation to eliminate the practice of forced labour. They, therefore, regard most seriously these completely unjustified charges preferred by the Minister of Social Affairs of a country now engaged in a campaign of intimidation and victimisation largely conducted under the auspices of the Egyptian authorities themselves. His Majesty's Government refute in their entirety the allegations made by the Egyptian Minister, and in so doing reaffirm their adherence to the aims and ideals of the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation relating to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to the dignity of labour.