Ghazl Shebeen workers continue to fight against privatization.
Tag: unions
Solidarity from Sweden
Solidarity statement with Egypt’s workers and free unions:
On June 8, the Egyptian transitional government announced its intention to enforce a ban on strikes and protests that “obstruct the work of public institutions” or harm “national unity, societal peace or public order”, penalizing those who participate in such actions with a fine of 30.000 – 100.000 Egyptian pounds or a prison sentence of no less than one year. On that same day riot police forcibly tried to break up a peaceful sit-in outside the People’s Assembly in Cairo and arrested at least 5 of the participating tenant farmers, according to press reports and eyewitness accounts. A few days earlier, military police arrested 5 petroleum workers following a sit-in outside the Ministry of petroleum.
We are deeply concerned about these and numerous other reports of repression against peaceful protests since the resignation of Hosni Mubarak on February 11, and strongly urge the Egyptian authorities to refrain from all forms of violence against demonstrators or striking workers. We call upon the government to reconsider the decision to impose the ban on strikes – a clear violation of international conventions signed by Egypt. As the right to strike is a fundamental human right under international law, imposing such a ban would amount to nothing less than a betrayal of the revolution of the Egyptian people, and its legitimate demands for a just and democratic society.
We also call upon the government of Egypt to uphold its promise to guarantee the right of all Egyptian workers to form independent and democratic unions, and extend our full support to the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions and all the workers of Egypt in their struggle to realize this demand. The emergence of free and independent trade unions is an event of enormous significance for Egypt and the entire region and is to be welcomed by trade unionists and all democratic forces around the world.Signed,
Björn A. Borg, Swedish Dockworkers Union
Hans Linde, Left Party of Sweden, Member of Swedish Parliament
Josefin Brink, Left Party of Sweden, Member of Swedish Parliament
Amineh Kakabaveh, Left Party of Sweden, Member of Swedish Parliament
Lotta Johnsson Fornarve, Left Party of Sweden, Member of the Party
Central Committee
Mussie Ephrem, Left Party of Sweden, Member of the Party Central Committee
Ann-Margarethe Livh, Chairman, Left International Forum
Jytte Guteland, President of Swedish Social Democratic Youth
Egypt independent trade unions endorse BDS
Press release:
London 2 July 2011
Representative of the Egyptian Independent Union Federation: “We call on the global trade union movement to cut links with the Histadrut and to support the Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for BDS”.
Kamal Abu Aita, representative of the Egyptian Independent Union Federation (EIUF) which was recently formed in Tahrir Square during the revolution, confirmed yesterday that the EIUF rejects any attempt to ‘normalise’ relations with Israel. In a speech in London to hundreds of activists from the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, Abu Aita also welcomed the formation of the Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for BDS (PTUC-BDS) and called on the international trade union movement to join the coalition.
Abu Aita said: “The Egyptian Independent Union Federation has a very clear position and that is one of solidarity with the Palestinian Arab people, support for their right to a state in the whole of their land and support for their right to use all forms of resistance against the Zionist state. The EIUF announces its rejection of all forms of normal relations with the racist, settler Zionist state and we will not co-operate with any of its official or trade union bodies because they are all connected to the Zionist occupation of our land. It is impossible for us to work with this racist regime, and it is vital to build a movement of humanity which aims to get rid of racist regimes against the world, just as we got rid of the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
The Egyptian revolution opened the door wide for our people to express their rejection of the Zionist state. From the beginning, the revolution has worked in the interests of the Palestinians, by stopping the export of Egyptian gas to the Zionists, and opening the border crossings. Egyptian youth besieged the embassy of our enemy and demanded the expulsion of the ambassador.
We reject any relationship with the Histadrut because it is part of this racist regime. We call on all friendly unions to boycott the Histadrut as part of the campaign to get rid of racist regimes all over the world.”
Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), said:
“The support of the Egyptian independent unions, represented by their federation, for the Palestinian Boycott Campaign is a source of pride for us, just as we are proud of Egypt’s leadership in the march of freedom from imperialism both old and new. We look forward to the return of the spirit to the all the Arab peoples struggling for freedom and social justice, and to break away of dependency on imperialist domination.”