L-R: Ghazl el-Mahalla Strike Leader Tarek Amin, Qalyoubiya Free Union Leader Tarek Mostafa, Aswan Free Union Leader Khaled Mubarak, at the Center for Socialist Studies.
Tag: mahalla
United We Stand
[Above: Ghazl el-Mahalla strike leader Tarek Amin (R) talking to Nagy Rashad (L), one of the leaders of the 2007 Grain Mills occupations in Cairo and Giza, on the need to coordinate the efforts to establish independent unions in Egypt]
Some might have regarded last Thursday’s meeting at the Center for Socialist Studies as a regular public meeting, but it was not. The meeting included some of the most hardcore fighters in the labor movement today, and a clear call was put forward from the leaders of the independent General Union of Real Estate Tax Collectors to the labor leaders in the traditional hotbeds of militancy in Mahalla, Steel Mills, Railways (in addition to other activists present who led heroic strikes in their workplaces), to push forward for free unions in their sectors.
The fight for free unions which started in January 2007, was to only escalate in 2008, with the tax collectors establishing the first independent trade union in the history of the country in 51 years.
A major point of strength for the tax collectors was their united leadership. The Higher Committee for the Real Estate Tax Collectors’ Strike which led the victorious 2007 protests, included both independents and those who were organized in political parties, but they were, again, united. With the exception of one member who was a source of great troubles both during the 2007 strike and during the 2008 free union building process, conducting provocation on behalf of the state-backed General Federation of Trade Unions (no need to mention his name, coz he’s been rightly sidelined by the other leaders in the fall of 2008), all committee members worked very harmoniously. This may be partially due to their personalities, but more importantly this was the result of months and months of work and coordination with a struggle on the ground that was filtering out the good from the bad apples.
This is not the case unfortunately in other sectors (some of which are about to embrace a storm of strikes and others already have witnessed industrial actions). And this is a huge challenge that is not impossible to overcome it, I believe. There are ongoing efforts to resolve the “issues” between the different strike leaders, and from what I’m seeing, there is great progress. But the thing that will filter out, again, the good from bad apples and show the workers on the floor who’s worthy of leadership, will only be struggles from below… ie, strikes.. And it’s those strikes that finish off the hypocrites and force the sincere organizers to unite.
I’ve come across examples of labor leaders who are just full of shit. They might say the “right thing” when they are being interviewed by the media, posing as militant campaigners for workers’ rights, but then do the total opposite when it’s (the real) show time in the factory.
The labor leaders who convened on Thursday agreed to hold a regular monthly meeting, which is a GREAT MOVE! I’M VERY HAPPY FOR THAT.. The coordination mechanism that is slowly evolving now is different from the previous experiences the Egyptian left tried over the past decade, which took the form of the Workers’ Coordination Committee and other fronts, whose membership hardly included workers! They were activists who were primarily involved in generating solidarity with the workers’ actions. The (mainly media and fund raising) support given by the activists to the strikers proved on a number of occasions to be instrumental in the success of the fight.. But the WCC and other fronts were elitist, lacking any grassroots what so ever in the factories or the civil service. And there is nothing more obscene than seeing a number of the activists involved in these fronts going around claiming to be “strike leaders.” But last Thursday, and without making a media fuss, or putting up names for “fronts” and “committees”, the tax collectors and the participant labor leaders have just sown the seed for what will evolve into a new, independent, free, militant, real Egyptian General Federation of Trade Unions.
Live-blogging: The fight for free unions
I’m at the Center for Socialist Studies now. I’ll be live-blogging today’s event.
Now a short documentary on the Real Estate Tax Collectors strike is being screened.
The tax collectors present in the meeting are happy to see themselves on screen:) The film is by Mahmoud Farag. The film has some of my pix from the strike, interviews with strike leaders, men and women.
I forget how tough those women tax strike leaders are. I like the interviews. They were talking about their role in the strike. They have great sense of humor too. The film audience are exchanging comments and laughter whenever anyone of them appears on the screen.
There is a newspaper clip in the film, with headlines from local newspapers during the strike, and it includes headlines about international solidarity and European trade unions who came out in support of the Egyptian tax collectors
Videoshots from the free union declaration day (20 Dec 08).
The lecture started. Kamal Abu Eita is speaking now. Kamal is saying the fight for independent trade unions today, is as important as the fight for national independence from colonialism last century.
Labor journalist Mostafa Bassiouny is now talking, presenting briefly a background on the fight for free unions in Egypt.
1957 was a turning point for the trade unions, says Mostafa, with Nasser’s establishment of the General Federation of Trade Unions.. Mostafa details the history of the General Federation..
Today, Mostafa says, only a minority of the workers are part of this General Federation.. The Federation doesn’t care about unionizing workers in the private sector.
The Federation is an organization without bases.. The overwhelming majority of industrial and service facilities do not have union committees.
The Federation was established in the first place by the employers: The govt.
The govt was the biggest employer in Egypt then, and it was the govt that established the union.. What sort of union do we expect it to be?
Mostafa is breaking down the structures of the General Federation, and where corruption lies
Financial corruption, Mostafa is detailing.. How votes are rigged during syndicate elections…
Only those who have friendly relations with SS get “elected”…
Draconian restrictions on strikes, explains Mostafa.
The Federation’s membership is dwindling.
Nasser established the Federation, but the relations of work as outlined by the Nasser’s regime was very hostile to the workers. The unions did not have power to negotiate.. They were govt appointed officials.
The State-backed unions brag whenever they suppress strikes. Hussein Megawer, head of Federation, today is one of the big enemies of workers. Farouq Shehata, head of State-backed General Union for Financial workers sold out the tax strikers and coordinated with SS.
The state-backed unions in Mahalla played central role in aborting the strikes in the factory.
On occasions, “workers’ representatives” are nothing but the owners of the business! You get “trade unionists” who are major shareholders. They do not represent the workers, and never did.. they represent capital..
In 1989, Steel workers occupied their mill. The govt response was to break into the factory, smash the occupation, and stop production! The workers didn’t stop the production, it was the state.. The state put security considerations on top of everything..
During Mahalla sept strike, the workers didn’t sabotage.. Those who carryout trade unionist activism among workers are independent forces away from the state-backed union. The latter cannot monopolize trade unionism anymore..
The fight for free unions today is integral to changing the political situation. In other countries were there dictatorships, always the independent unions were an important factor in the collapse of this dictatorship.
Speakers lined up include Ghazl el-Mahalla Kamal el-Fayoumi, Tax strike leader Abdel Qader Nada, and several strike leaders from other sectors.
The hero of Mahalla Kamal el-Fayoumi is now speaking. This guy makes me shiver each time I hear him. He’s very charismatic, sincere. When he talks he thunders.
He spoke about the Mahalla strikes, and the state-backed unions position towards them.
He spoke about his detention in April 2007, slamming State Security police, the govt, and the attempts to privatize the firm.
“The independent union established by the Real Estate Tax Collectors is a model we have to follow,” Kamal Fayoumi says. “Our free unions will not be born except by strikes. The Mahalla workers are capable of doing the same. We were the first to introduce the culture of strikes in Egypt.”
When confronting the state-backed unions, we have to confront privatization. We cannot end up in the street.
The govt is a govt of businessmen
Kamal is slamming Mubarak himself. Everyone is full of adrenaline now at the audience…
He finished his talk. Strong applause from the audience.
Tax Strike leader Abdel Qader Nada is now gonna speak.
Abdel Qader talks about the start of the 2007 real estate tax collectors strike.. He’s denouncing the state-backed unions, explaining what the govt corrupt union officials were doing during their strike.
Abdel Qader is also stressing that establishing a free union is a constitutional right. “We cannot just establish a union, we can also establish a general federation of unions. That’s our right!”
Abdel Qader is detailing the rights Egyptian workers have under the law, which is not implemented and violated always by the govt.