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.