Mahalla Update day 3

Sorry for not posting a proper story yet, but I am struggling to balance my own work commitments, the fact that it is Ramadan and overload of news and rumours about the strike. I am working on something, but what I write just keep getting old quickly. If any admins feel that these forum posts can be used as news, please just edit them as you see fit and upload them.

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The management of the factory have decreed that the days from 23rd to 30th of September are holidays. This is significant as it enforced the illegal status of the strike (the regime has already said it was illegal) as workers, according to the law, should not be present inside the factory when they are on holiday/not working.

This could be an excuse for the police to come in and crack down on the strike, or be used as a cover for agent provocateurs that will give the police the excuse they need to intervene.

Police now have a very heavy presence around the factory and in Mahalla, and have been clearing the area around the factory through physical intimidation of street vendors and others. The police have trucks, armoured vehicles and several high ranking officers.

According to Hossam el-Hamalawy this can mean two things. Either the police will storm the factory (probably at night) or some important government figure is coming to negotiate directly.

Management and security have cut off electricity and water from the factory to force the fasting workers to leave the compound.

The Kafr el-Dawwar action was a solidarity protest and not a strike. This is nevertheless significant as half of the labour force participated in the hour long action Tuesday morning. They chanted slogans in solidarity with the Mahalla strikers as well as raising their own local demands. While they did not commit to a strike now, a strike is still likely in the coming few days. Factory militants feel they need more time to be able to mobilize the whole workforce.

The five labour leaders were released Tuesday night, though three more had been arrested. During their incarceration the labour leaders were probably pressured to try to stop the strike.

Inside the factory the strike leaders addressed the mass of workers telling them that in exchange for stopping the strike they were promised 40 days of bonuses to be paid immediately and wait for the company to decide on whether the rest of the bonuses would be paid out. With the other demands the strike leaders could not say how they would be implemented other than referring to vague promises.

The promises the workers have received before have been empty, part of the reason why they struck again. The mass of workers would not have anything of it and basically forced the continuation of the strike.

The workers have put up tents inside the factory grounds so that they can stay there for a prolonged period of time. To the Daily News Egypt, Gehad Taman, an employee with the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company said “We want to send a message to the management that we are not going anywhere”. “We are bringing our wives and our children, our whole families here.” “We will eat and drink and sleep here and will show them that we are not going anywhere. If we have to we will stay here until Eid.”

A banner, capturing the mood of the militancy of the strike, that reads “This is liberated territory and belongs to the weaving workers of Mahalla” have been put up outside the factory.

The workers have also threatened to take the strike to the streets to garner support. In addition they have also threatened to cut off the water supply to the homes of the area’s most prominent engineers that are on the board of directors of the factory.

Al Attar said that 12,500 workers “will leave the factory grounds and take to the streets,” where they will garner public support.

The workers have also threatened to cut off the water supply to the homes of some of the area’s most prominent engineers, including the head of the board of directors Mahmoud Al Gibaly, by the protest’s third day.

A solidarity committee with the Mahalla workers has been set up, follow the link to read their launching statement.

A report by the Workers’ Coordination Committee documents 386 industrial actions in the private and public sectors from January to July 2007. With the months of August and September included, the figure is likely to be closer to 500… The Land Center for Human Rights documented a total of 222 industrial actions in all of 2006.

The report also stated that 26 workers committed suicide and that 75.000 lost their jobs between January and July. In addition, of the 129 work related injuries 84 died.