It’s unlikely to see Mahalla now rising against Sisi, but such industrial actions are slowly laying the seeds of what could be a full-fledged challenge to the ruling junta in the coming years.
UPDATE: The strike has been suspended on Saturday.
Tag: workers
Awaiting a change in the tide
At time of writing, 4,000 workers in Helwan’s steel mills, south of Cairo, are on strike over pay and claims of corruption among its state management.
Strikes have occurred since the military coup, such as the mass strikes over national minimum wage in February 2014, but they are unlikely to cross over from the economic realm to political street mobilizations soon.
In a time of retreat, those revolutionaries still outside of jail cells must choose their battles carefully. Organising street protests is suicidal in the current climate and such attempts only boost the prison population.
Our limited resources should be solely devoted, during this period of retreat, to cementing what is left of the networks we have built, supporting those held in prison, and trying our best to connect with those economic struggles.
We are awaiting a change in the tide.
Steel mill workers in Helwan on strike
Around 4,000 workers in Helwan’s steel mill are currently on strike.