Middle East

Paradise Now, dir. Hany Abu-Assad, 2006. Film review

Tom Jennings — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:48:44 +0000

Clarifying the Muddle East

Iran: Lightning strike at Haft-Tapeh Sugar Factory

mobarez — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:41:44 +0000

Another workers’ representative of Haft Tapeh Sugar Factory, Mohammad Heydari Mehr was arrested by security forces on November 7, 2007 after being asked to refer to intelligence and security offices in the city of Shoush. Ghorban Alipour, another representative of Haft Tapeh Sugar Factory workers was arrested at his residence and taken away by security forces on November 5, 2007.

Iran: The struggle of the Haft-Tapeh workers

mobarez — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:37:07 +0000

Here is the statement from the Workers Action Committee following the initial strike.

Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers in southern Iran go on strike

Iran sentences labour leader to five years imprisonment

mobarez — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:12:29 +0000

An Iranian court has sentenced a dissident labor leader to five years in jail, a judiciary official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Mansoor Osanloo, who runs a union grouping bus drivers, was detained in July for "distributing statements against the system". Western rights groups say Iran has launched a crackdown on dissenting voices, although Tehran denies this.

Egypt labour unrest: late October updates

Khawaga — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:02:48 +0000

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.

Repression continues in Iran

Ed — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:05:38 +0000

The ITF is condemning the latest tactic in what it describes as a cynical catalogue of dirty tricks played by the Iranian government on imprisoned trade union leader Mansour Osanloo.

Prison sentence for Egyptian workers' rights activist

Ed — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:53:58 +0000

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

Ed — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:22:09 +0000

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

Khawaga — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:18:28 +0000

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).

Mahalla strikers score victory

Ed — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 16:53:28 +0000

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.