Egypt
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.
University strike in Egypt
Professors throughout Egypt took part in one of the biggest university strikes last Sunday to renew demands for better pay and working conditions.
Simultaneous protests were held at 1pm outside university administrative buildings. Some 200 university professors attended the protest at Cairo University.
Railway, agricultural workers protest and walk out
Recent weeks have seen a continuation of the workers' unrest in Egypt, with over 2,000 agricultural workers going on all-out strike at the end of February and 100 railway workers protesting their pay and conditions at the start of March.
Agricultural workers strike & sit-in
Egypt labour unrest: late October updates
A short update on labour struggles in Egypt in late October.
Egypt’s workers’ unrest is continuing unabated. According to the Egyptian Workers and Trade Union Watch (EWTUW) there have been a total of 580 industrial actions in the period January- September. Almost every month sees an increase in workers’ actions: from around 20 in early 2007 to the peak of 100 and 94 actions in August and September respectively.
Prison sentence for Egyptian workers' rights activist
Kamal Abbas, General Coordinator of the Center for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS) and his lawyer, Mohamed Helmy have been sentenced one year’s imprisonment by an Egyptian court.
A law suit for alleged “slander and defamation of character” against Kamal Abbas was filed by Mohamed Ibrahim, chairman of the board of directors of a youth centre in 15 May City and member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
Egypt: three strikes and three victories in one week
Egypt struggled Tuesday to stem a rising tide of industrial action as officials rushed to end the third strike in a week, the latest challenge to President Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Labour ministry officials met employee representatives at the Damietta Spinning and Weaving Co to come to an agreement just 24 hours after workers kicked off their strike, the official MENA news agency said. Labour Minister Aisha Abdel Hadi told reporters she was eager to "protect the interests and rights of the workers."
The Militancy of Mahalla al-Kubra - Joel Beinin
"For the second time in less than a year, in the final week of September the 24,000 workers of the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company in Mahalla al-Kubra went on strike -- and won." This article by Joel Beinin gives a good overview of the Mahalla al-Kubra's Ramadan strike of September 2007.
For the second time in less than a year, in the final week of September the 24,000 workers of the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company in Mahalla al-Kubra went on strike -- and won. As they did the first time, in December 2006, the workers occupied the Nile Delta town’s mammoth textile mill and rebuffed the initial mediation efforts of Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
