Historic victory for Egypt’s working class… The government has finally agreed to dissolve the board of the corrupt, state-run general federation of trade unions, the federation of thugs, the federation of thieves, the federation of government agents who sabotaged strikes and cracked down on any dissent in the workplace.
Historic victory by all means. I’ll write more this weekend on our next move and what the government has in mind, but let’s remember the Mahalla workers who started in January 2007 this fight against that corrupt federation…
And we’ll never forget the Property Tax Collectors who took this fight a step forward, launching in December 2008 our first independent trade union in the history of the country since 1957…
Long live the Egyptian working class, Long live the Egyptian Revolution…
Around 100 independent trade unionists today held a protest in front of the headquarters of the state-backed Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions, denouncing its corrupt president Hussein Megawer, an NDP businessman close to the Mubarak’s clique. The protesters tried to enter the lobby of the building peacefully, only to be met with glass bottles, rocks, sticks and fire extinguishers from the EFTU thugs.
The military police arrived in the scene following half an hour of the ongoing clashes, and took away one of the EFTU thugs.
Around 100 independent trade unionists today held a protest in front of the headquarters of the state-backed Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions, denouncing its corrupt president Hussein Megawer, an NDP businessman close to the Mubarak’s clique. The protesters tried to enter the lobby of the building peacefully, only to be met with glass bottles, rocks, sticks and fire extinguishers from the EFTU thugs.
The military police arrived in the scene following half an hour of the ongoing clashes, and took away one of the EFTU thugs.
N Sinai property tax collectors with the free union taking part in a protest in front of the Cairo Press Syndicate, calling for raising the national minimum wage to LE1200.
Kamal Abu Eita, president of the independent General Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Employees, denouncing Hussein Megawer and his corrupt state-backed General Federation of Trade Unions, during a Workers’ Preparatory Committee meeting, Thursday evening, Cairo’s Press Syndicate…
Socialist lawyer Haitham Mohamadein and President of the Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Employees Kamal Abu Eita presenting to the Labor Minister’s Office Director the papers of the newly born union, Egypt’s first independent trade union in 51 years…
The Real Estate Tax Collectors‘ free union leaders are now meeting with labor lawyers and journalists, in downtown Cairo drafting the constitution of the union…
The official name of the union will be :
نقابة العاملين بالضرائب العقارية
Union of Real Estate Tax Authority employees (URETA)
The activists are discussing the official phrasing of the articles detailing the “objectives” and the “membership” of the union… The general assembly of the free union which elected the current leadership last December, delegated the latter the authority to draft the constitution.. The union leadership has engaged since then in discussion with the base cadres and the representatives in the provinces, listening to suggestions…
Today, the leaders are convening in Cairo with labor lawyers and journalists to put together the charter… I’m at the meeting, connected to the internet via USB modem.. I’ll post more later..
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