A delegation of Ghazl el-Mahalla Textile workers met Tuesday with the secretary-general of the General Federation of Trade Unions, Hussein Megawer (who is the head of Mubarak’s NDP parliamentary block, and who did not dare showing up in Mahalla during the December strike).
The meeting lasted for four stormy hours, during which Megawer, coming under heat, acknowledged there were “problems with the Factory Union Committee that needed to be dealt with,” according to one of the Mahalla workers who took part in the negotiations.
Megawer, according to my source, has promised to give the Mahalla workers the Federation’s decision in two weeks, a time period that coincides with the 15 Feb ultimatum given by the workers to their General Union.
Last but not least, from the way the negotiations today were going, my source expected that the Federation might actually give in, and dissolve its local branch, and hold new elections.
Once again, it seems Mahalla is about to score another victory…