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.
Tag: workers
Steel mill workers in Helwan on strike
Around 4,000 workers in Helwan’s steel mill are currently on strike.
Egypt: Strikes! Strikes! Strikes!
While international media coverage of Egypt is still largely obsessed with the Muhammad movie fallout, almost every sector in the country is going strike literally from Alexandria to Aswan, together with shutting down of a large number of schools due to a teachers national strike, simultaneously with shutting down the universities due to workers strikes joined by the students.
The revolution is by no means over. For continuous updates on the industrial actions and protests, follow our official twitter account, our Facebook page and website, as well as @EgyStrikes and the Diigo group.