Middle East
Mahalla strikers score victory
Government negotiators and labor representatives resolved early on Saturday a week-old labor dispute that had paralyzed Egypt’s largest textile factory by largely agreeing to the workers’ demands, the strike committee said in a statement.
Workers’ representatives of the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company in Mahalla el-Kubra, north of Cairo, met with the official government union and they agreed to grant the workers’ an additional 90 days pay, and negotiate over further increases.
Egypt: Mahalla strike update
Five detained Mahalla strikers were released last night, a mass meeting of the strikers rejected compromise and security forces are beginning to step up their presence around the factory.
Taken from the excellent and highly recommended 3arabwy blog.
The five detained Ghazl el-Mahalla labor leaders were released Tuesday night sometime between 11pm and midnight from State Security Police custody.
Launching statement of the 'Solidarity Committee with Mahalla Workers'
This is the launching statement of the Solidarity Committee with Mahalla Workers from 25th of September 2007. The signatories include a number of workers representing several factories and left-leaning organizations and political parties.
Solidarity Committee with Mahalla Workers
Israel: Unofficial action disrupts flights
An unofficial go-slow by airline workers has grounded a number of flights in Israel over the past week.
Workers at Eilat-based Arkia Airlines have been staging the work-to-rule as part of an on-going dispute with management. A number of flights have had to be cancelled recently owing to "technical difficulties".
In reality, airline staff have decided amongst themselves to make things as difficult as possible for the company to operate smoothly until demands over pay and conditions are met.
Revolution betrayed - the Workers Revolutionary Party and Iraq
Two articles from Solidarity on corruption in the Workers Revolutionary Party and its links with Saddam Hussein and other Middle Eastern governments.
THE REVOLUTION BETRAYED
First day of school cancelled in Palestine due to strikes
Palestinian children were due to begin their first day back at school on Saturday, however in the West Bank, school was suspended due to a teachers' union strike.
The teachers are protesting a government decision to reduce weekends to one day per week and end having Saturday as a day-off. In Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank, Ma'an's correspondent reported that the streets were teeming with students returning from school after finding their teachers absent from the classrooms.
Suez Fertiliser Company workers score victory
The recent strikewave in Egypt continues as fertiliser workers are victorious in their most recent industrial action.
A strike of more than 400 workers at the Suez Fertilizers Company was suspended Friday 5:30pm, following negotiations between the CEO of the company Sayyed Abul Hawa el-Daw and the Labor Ministry officials in Suez on the one hand, and six of the strike leaders on the other, whereby the following had been agreed up on:
1) The monthly salaries of the workers will be raised by LE200
Class struggle in Iraq - interview with a veteran
An interview covering class struggle in Iraq from the '40s to early '90s in Iraq.
The following interview was first published in 'Workers Scud - no patriot can catch us!' (London, June 1991), a collection of articles reflecting on the Gulf War.
The Class Struggle in Iraq - an interview with a veteran
Q: Can you briefly tell us about the class struggle in Iraq before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958?
Reservation Politics: the Palestinian experience through the historical monocle of Native Americans - Melancholic Troglodytes
An historical examination of the similarities and differences in the situations of the Palestinians and the Native Americans.
"Our historical analogy aimed to demonstrate the failure of the present course of action for the region’s proletariat and suggest an alternative. It is the social and not the military dimension of the struggle that has the potential to transcend capital."
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General strike shuts down Israel
A general strike brought Israel's economy to a near halt Wednesday as all but emergency services shut down.
The strike declared Tuesday night closed most government offices and the postal service while workers related to defense and emergency healthcare remained on the job, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Government negotiations with the Histadrut labor federation were to continue Wednesday in hope of ending the strike by day's end, The Post reported.
