Tag: state backed unions

Solidarity needed with Socialist trade unionist

Posted on By 3arabawy

In a new attack on labor activists, the government-backed members of the Union Committee for the Giza Labor Directorate civil servants have summoned Socialist trade unionist Fatma Ramadan for interrogation today, threatening to freeze her union membership, part of a witch-hunt against dissident trade unionists.

The government-backed members have officially requested from the higher union body, the General Union of Administrative Services, to freeze Fatma’s union membership for: “inciting the employees,” “contacting the media,” “adopting illegal means of communications” (as Fatma led a campaign of petitions, directed to the Labor Minister herself, over the work conditions of the civil servants), and “distributing leaflets.”

UPDATE: The Workers’ Solidarity Committee issued a statement denouncing the crackdown.

Tax officers demonstrate

Posted on By 3arabawy

I received the following report from journalist and friend Jano Charbel…

The real estate tax employees remain steadfast in their demands of affiliation to the ministry of finance, or at least equity with their co-workers – the general tax, customs tax, and sales tax employees – who are affiliated to the ministry, and on average, earn 5x as much as these real estate tax employees.
Over 1000 real estate tax employees demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation on downtown Cairo’s Gala’ Street. They came from a number of Governorates across Egypt – Daqahlia, Bani Suef, Port Said, Demietta, Giza, etc. Hundreds of CSF troops cordoned the demonstrating tax employees on the sidewalk outside the ETUF headquarters . They are sleeping in there and are expected to continue with their demo until their grievances are addressed.
Chants at this demo on Tuesday (Nov. 13) called upon Egypt’s 55,000 real estate tax workers to resume strike action by not collecting taxes – until their demands are met. The ETUF’s Hussein Megawer is said to have conducted some sort of negotiations with the strike leaders/worker delegates.

Some photos of the protest, below, taken by Jano…

Karl Mubarax

Posted on By 3arabawy

Hosni, you the son of Arabism. O brother, you are so great.. May he, who thought one day of making you grieve, have his hands cut.. He, who does not follow you, shouldn’t live.. He, who does not listen to you, shouldn’t live.

This is a translation of the “poem” recited Wednesday by Ibrahim el-Azhari, the General Secretary of the govt-controlled Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions during the end of the celebrations of the October War anniversary in the Nile Delta province of Qalyoubiya, sponsored by the (also govt-controlled) Young Workers’ Federation.

Ok, I can’t resist this. I gotta translate more of Al-Azhari’s juicy quotes:

“Mubarak, may God make him alive longer, is the peasant, the worker, the soldier.. President Mubarak feels for all the society’s classes and represents them,” he said adding that there was nothing better than poetry to counter the president’s critics.
Moreover, Al-Azhari said that the Young Workers Federation has collected President Mubarak’s speeches in a two-volume encyclopedia, titled “Mubarak’s Encyclopedia of Labor,” clarifying that the US Library of Congress already ordered it and the encyclopedia is in circulation.