workers' struggles

Five turbulent months in the Egyptian workers’ arena

"Workers and Social Resistance" is a fascinating and thought-provoking book. It concerns the Egyptian workers’ movement, and highlights a social stratum thus far ignored by public opinion and the media alike.

At the book's centre is a report on the dramatic events which took place in the workers’ arena in the beginning of 2007. It also includes newspaper reports, court testimonies, and related documents.

At the time of publication in the spring of 2007, the contributors could not yet fully confirm their assertion that we are witnessing a new movement of historical significance. Since then, however, the movement has grown steadily, culminating in a major strike which started in the city of Al Mahallah Al Kubrah on April 6, 2008 and spread throughout the country.

The book isn’t concerned with statistics or scientific research. It brings to the reader reports of events on the ground, including a detailed account of the five months between November 2006 and March 2007, during which Egypt was plagued by daily demonstrations, sit-down strikes and hunger strikes. At the centre of events stands a large textile factory in the city of Al Mahallah Al Kubrah, whose workers were joined in their struggle by those from other sectors, including Cairo train drivers and workers in cement factories in Halwann and Turah.

The conflicts originated with local initiatives where workers were demanding improved job conditions and the fulfilment of promises made by government and management. These initiatives were courageous in their defiance of an authority which is known for cruelty in suppressing opposition. By contrast, local leaders, who presided over the struggles, gained the full trust of the workers, showed restraint, judiciousness and flexibility, and stating their case articulately.

One of the principal demands made by the Egyptian workers is for trade union independence and their right to elect their own leadership. In virtually every case, they insist on choosing their own leaders, and they reject attempts by the Governmental Union to take control. The book reveals that the general union of Egyptian workers – The Official Federation of Trade Unions – is in fact a puppet of the regime and of the ruling National-Democratic Party.

Union Elections – a turning point

In November and December 2006, many cases of electoral fraud were discovered in factories during general trade-union elections. These coincided with a rise in the levels of anger and malcontent among workers. The crisis originated two years earlier, however, from the unique political constellation that emerged in Egypt prior to the Presidential elections. In 2004 Ahmed Nazif was appointed Prime Minister. This appointment signalled an accelerated process of privatisation. The resulting structural change brought about job insecurity in all sectors of society and destabilised the political regime.

The period before the presidential elections in 2005 saw the establishment in Egypt of the campaign group Kfaya (‘Enough’). It succeeded, for the first time in 50 years, in organising public demonstrations against President Mubaraq. In particular, the group opposed his plan to hand over the presidency to his son Jammal. Kfaya was rooted in Egyptian academia, but its demands were democratic and concerned the working class as well as the rest of the population.

These two developments have taken place simultaneously: on the one hand, a neo-liberal government has dispensed with thousands of workers in the process of making Egypt attractive to investors, and, on the other, a democratic movement has been challenging the political regime. Such was the background of events that swept through the working class on the eve of the trade union elections in November 2006. It should be noted that the latter were routine local union committee elections which, according to Egyptian law, must take place every five years in all government work places. However, this time change was in the air. Instead of the usual indifference typical of previous elections, there were heated debates, with involvement of workers, debates that threatened the unpopular government of Ahmed Nazif.

Additionally, the elections of 2006 saw the first candidates of the Muslim Brotherhood join the trade-union political arena. The authorities, who unashamedly falsified the election results, claimed in their defence that the fraud was meant to defend the union from harmful influences by the Islamic movement. The truth is that out of 30,000 candidates nationwide, the Muslim Brotherhood put up only 500 candidates for leading local trade union committees. Most candidates were independent activists who defied the ruling party and its representatives by their very independence (p.14).

Al Mahallah Al Kubrah - the centre of the struggle

The second part of Workers and Social Resistance concerns the struggles of the textile workers. This part emphasises the central role of a large textile factory in Al Mahallah Al Kubrah. This government-owned plant is the largest in Egypt, employing 27,000. The courageous stand taken by these workers in the strike of December 2006 created a precedent for a wave of strikes and demonstrations that continues to this day.

The workers of Al Mahallah Al Kubrah, most of them women, have to manage on salaries so low that they do not ensure reasonable subsistence. The salaries range between 200-400 Egyptian pounds (US$50-80) per month, which works out to less than $3 a day – an indication of the disgraceful poverty suffered by the workers and their families. Their demand was to raise their minimum wage to 1200 pounds (US$300) per month. Such wages would provide no luxuries, but would enable them to have decent lives.

The minimum wage for public sector workers in Egypt is 35 Egyptian pounds per month. Such wages are ridiculous. They cannot sustain a single person, let alone a family. In most cases salaries are supplemented by performance-related pay and other bonuses, but these additions are at the sole discretion of local managers. This peculiar wage regime has over the years created a complete dependence of workers on the good will of their managers. Workers are reluctant to demand their due for fear of losing their supplementary income, which depends on the employer’s pleasure. This ‘ideal’ regime has now become the Achilles Heel of the Egyptian system.

The central demand made by the workers of Al Mahallah Al Kubrah, in their general strike of December 2006, was for the fulfilment of a promise made by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif: successful factories were supposed to distribute profits among their workers. Managers of hundreds of government-owned factories, among them the textile factory of Al Mahallah Al Kubrah, refused to hand over the workers’ share of profits.

The strike in Al Mahallah had the desired effect, and the workers received their bonuses. This achievement set the Egyptian public sector on fire. In one factory after another, inspired workers went on strike, demanding that their managers follow suit and fulfil the promise of profit-sharing.

Workers and Social Resistance describes the fascinating dynamics of workers struggling in varied geographical locations, sectors, and social strata – industrial workers in the provinces, government officials, doctors, teachers and more. A fresh, optimistic wind wafts through the pages of this book – an atmosphere of elation, as every achievement, however small or local, becomes the talk of the day throughout the region, joining the immense current which is the Egyptian workers movement. Governmental attempts to halt this current by arresting leaders, by taking over factories with security forces and by other violent means, are met time after time with an even stronger opposing force.

One World Language

After 30 years of hibernation, the Egyptian workers' movement has begun to fulfil a leading role in the social and political life of its country. In doing so, it has broken through the paralysing model of a two-sided conflict between the pro-American Mubaraq regime, and the opposition party, representative of political Islam, The Muslim Brotherhood.

Once again, the Egyptian working class has proved to be a pioneer in the Arab world. Moreover, its latest struggles are a real contribution to the movement against capitalist globalisation. The severe world credit crisis, the collapse of American banks and the rise in oil and basic commodity prices – all these point to the need to bring about a progressive alternative which will speak with one voice worldwide, the voice that comes from the workers of Egypt.