Egypt
Tanta Linen Company workers in Egypt begin open-ended strike
1000 Tanta Linen Co. workers are striking, led for the first time in Egypt by an official trade union, the Textile Trade Union (TTU).
The workers’ demands are to get paid bonuses on the basis of 2008 wage rate instead of 2003, the accumulated commissions that unpaid since selling the company to the Saudi investor, increasing the meal compensation from 32 L.E to 90 L.E like all other textile companies, a 7% regular subsidy, and the rehiring of their fired fellow workers.
Strikes and occupations across Egypt
Struggle continues developing across Egypt with strikes and sit-ins taking place in six different provinces around the countries.
Many provinces this week witnessed strikes and sit-ins. In Menoufia, more than 3000 workers of Andrama Textiles staged a sit-in inside their factory in protest against not paying them their annual bonuses amounting to 228 working days, and failure to pay them the Prophet Mohammad's Anniversary bonus.
Strikes, occupations and road block in Egypt
Twenty-two employees of the Ghazl El-Mahalla spinning factory continued their occupation of their union offices on Wednesday after negotiations failed to reach a resolution to their demands.
The 22 workers initiated the sit-in at the headquarters of the company's trade union committee in Mahalla on Saturday. The workers are calling for a cancellation of the transfer orders issued against five workers following a protest held at the factory at the end of October, a return of the workers to their original posts and financial compensation for the transferred workers.
Egyptian court sentences 22 to prison for Mahalla riots
An Egyptian state security court sentenced 22 people to between three and five years in jail on Monday for their part in riots which shook the Nile Delta in April.
The riots in the Nile Delta textile town of Mahalla el-Kubra, the worst in the country for many years, began as protests against sudden steep rises in the price of food. Three people were killed and more than 100 people wounded in two days of clashes with riot police.
Ghazl el-Mahalla workers protest privatisation
Workers from the Ghazl El-Mahalla spinning factory held a demonstration Thursday against alleged plans to sell off the Ghazl El-Mahalla company to private investors.
At 3pm some 40 women workers had congregated outside the gate of the factory, located in the Delta town of Mahalla El-Kobra. At 2:45 pm hundreds of workers were filing out of the factory, ahead of the scheduled time for the end of the morning shift at 3 pm.
Mansoura-Espana Garments Company workers on strike
Tuesday 24th June 2008 – Workers at the Mansoura-Espana Garments Company in Talkha are on strike.
Tuesday 24th June 2008 – Workers at the Mansoura-Espana Garments Company in Talkha are on strike. Via Twitter, Arabawy reports that central security forces and trucks have surrounded the factory, and that water cannons have been used on the strikers.
Textile strike in Alexandria
26th May: Reports of an outbreak wildcat strike in Al-Amiriya Company for Spinning and Weaving in Alexandria. Could this be the start of a new wave of strikes?
According to reports from bloggers a wildcat strike has started at the state-owned Al-Amiriya Company for Spinning and Weaving. The workers are demanding one full month of bonuses.
Egypt cracks down post-strike
Rob Ray reports for Freedom Newspaper on continuing crackdowns on civil liberties in Egypt
Following a period of upheavals in Egypt, the state is attempting to reassert control with a series of measures aimed at curbing both the labour movement and the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest radical Islamic group.
Ghazl el-Mahalla riots, Egypt, April 6-7th 2008
After a government crackdown on workers throughout Egypt, Ghazl el-Mahalla erupts in two days of rioting.
Clashes outside courts in Mahalla al-Kubra, Egypt
Around 300 people were involved in clashes with Egyptian security forces as, friends and family rallied in support of those detained for their part in last week's clashes.
Public Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud decided to release 18 people kept under provisional detention in connection with the riots that occurred on April 6 and 7 during the semi-aborted general strike. He said in a statement yesterday that investigations were still underway to determine the criminal responsibilities of the other people under provisional detention.
