Ghazl Shebeen el-Kom workers chant against Said el-Gohary, head of the state-backed General Union of Textile Workers.
Year: 2011
Democray from below
After announcing an independent union on March 25, the Manshiyet el-Bahri Hospital doctors, nurses and workers impeached the director of the hospital three days later, and today elected a new director.
This is probably the first time in our history (and I don’t know if it happened elsewhere in the world) that staff elect their hospital management. This is real democracy from below, and one of the first gains of establishing a free union.
Privatization and the decay of Ghazl Shebeen
Touring Factory No. 1 in Ghazl Shebeen el-Kom, with two workers who are explaining how the privatized management helped bring the factory down.