Your Excellency Mr. Prime Minister
The signatories listed below that include trade unions and political parties are addressing you this letter regarding the events that occurred during the past two weeks at IFFCCO Company for Oils in the governorate of Suez, hoping that you will realize the danger it represents and grant to these facts the attention and concern it deserves. The actual situation could be summarized as follows:
By this letter, we express our deep concern about the offensive attitude adopted towards workers; we also express our astonishment regarding the alignment of governmental bodies and security services with businessmen at the expense of workers’ rights and the violent repression that took place against the most vulnerable social counterpart that is paying the largest part of the bill according to the governmental declarations.
The trend of violence against workers’ movements has been obviously escalating during the past months translated into additional cases of trial with the charges of strikes or instigation to strike, and additional cases of arbitrary termination for trade unions’ leaders and activists.. While the houses of IFFCCO workers were invaded by the security forces, two workers at the Authority of Public Transports remain in preventive detention under fake accusations and absence of proofs, independent trade unions are under siege under the pretext of their illegitimacy and their activities constantly shrunk, in addition to the governmental refusal of acknowledging their stamps or accepting their documents for registration.
Thus, the peaceful assembly of IFFCCO workers is met with the invasion of houses, the judgment of 23 workers and the prevention of them to enter in their work place, all this culminating with a memo from the administration on January 4 holding the title “Very Important Warning” preventing workers from dealing with “what is called the independent trade union” on the base of a correspondence sent by the General Federation of Trade Unions (governmentally supported) stating that the said trade unions was established against the law. Strangely enough, they are referring to the same trade union that entered in negotiation with the administration in 2012 and 2015 under the auspices of the Ministry of Labor, violating thus the basic standards of labor as well as the international conventions endorsed by Egypt.
Ignoring the Constitution and efforts to go round the facts will never be useful in the attempts to reverse the wheels of history as strike was – and will remain –one of the important tools for workers to defend their interests; we also note that workers do not resort happily to this alternative but have to use it when all the others means to engage in negotiations are blocked or reach a dead end.
The experience of the period preceding January 2011 cannot be far from our minds when the attraction of investments was a top priority combined with false promises of prosperity and pompous declaration about the rates of development reaching 7% while the Egyptian society was boiling from anger and the ground trembling under thrones. If we are really seeking to achieve economic development, there must be an equilibrium in the distribution of its revenues and if we really want to attract the investments requiring social stability, there must be some justice. The role of investors is not only to take but also to assume their social responsibility; they have to be aware that an unbalanced society suffering from profound inequalities can never be stable.
In confirming the importance of collective negotiations between the two main stakeholders and other social actors in the field of work, we strongly call for the reinforcement of the mechanisms leading to the prevalence of social dialogue over any other forms of debate.
Social negotiation requires firstly the abolition of restrictions obstructing the right to organizing, as well as the empowerment of the various social categories in creating the organizations expressing their interests and advocating for their rights by using the different tools allowing them practicing pressures in order to improve their position and impacting policy-makers.
Accordingly, we stress on the right of workers to establish their independent trade unions and enjoy the possibility of activating their role in order to reach collective agreements and mutual grounds of understanding.
While expressing our deep concern about what happens with IFFCCO workers as well as other workers during the past months, we also confirm our awareness of the dangerous period our country is going through and we call for the availability of true opportunities for a constructive social partnership enabling the promotion of a balanced stable and democratic society seeking to achieve a prosperous future.
Therefore, we call for your prompt intervention in order to:
Signatories:
Parties:
1. Socialist Popular Alliance Party
2. Al Aish wal Horiya Party (under construction)
3. The Egyptian Socialist Party (under construction)
4. The Coordination committee of labour chapters in socialist parties and movements
Organizations:
5. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
6. The Center for Trade Union and Worker Services
Trade Union Confederation/ Federation:
7. The Regional Confederation of Independent Unions in Suez
8. The Regional Confederation of Alexandria workers unions.
9. Arab Trade Union Confederation
10. The Egyptian Union for Chemical Workers in Suez
11. The Independent Union of Building and Wood Workers and Free Jobs
12. The Union for textile, readymade clothes and Leather
13. The Egyptian Democratic Labour Congress
14. The Professional Post Union
15. The permanent Conference of Alexandria Workers
16. The permanent Conference of Working Women
17. The Egyptian Front for Women
Trade Unions:
18. The Union of Workers in The Egyptian Indian Polyester Company
19. The Union of Workers in Al Nogom for Packing and Wrapping
20. The Union of Workers in Al Nasagoun for Petro Chemicals
21. The Union of Workers in Egypt Mondelez workers (Previously Cadbury) in Alexandria.
22. The Independent Union of The Timber and Daily Workers in Alexandria
23. The Independent Union of The Workers in the Egyptian Maritime Company in Alexandria
24. The Independent Union of Workers in Exxon Mobile –Egypt, Alexandria
25. The Independent Union of The Alexandria Library Workers
26. The Union of Alexandria Company for Petroleum Maintenance (Petroment)
27. The Independent Union of Crafts in Alexandria
28. The Independent Union of Workers in Cotton Club Company, Alexandria
29. The Independent Union of Workers in Al Shifa Hospital, Alexandria
30. The Independent Union of Workers in the Education Ministry in Motaza, Alexandria
31. The Union of the Suez Company for Nitrates
32. The Union of Vinavil Egypt for Chemicals in Suez
33. Al Nahr El Khaled Company in Port Said
34. General Union of Real Estate Tax
Public figures:
35. Dr. Ahmed Al Borai- Former minister of Labour
36. Mohamed Anwar Al Sadat- Parliamentarian
37. George Ishak- Member of the National Council for Human Rights
38. Dr. Amr El Shobky
39. Hafez Abu Seada- Member of the National Council for Human Rights
40. Ragia Omran- Member of the National Council for Human Rights
41. Bassem Kamel- Vice President of The Egyptian Social Democratic Party
42. Kamal Abbas- The General Coordinator of The Center for Trade Union & Workers' Services (CTUWS)
43. Karima Al Hifnawy- Pharmacist
44. Elhamy Al Marghani- Economic researcher
45. Dr. Magdy Abdel Hamid- Legal and Political Activist
46. Dr. Mohamed Hassan Khalil- Health Right Campaign Coordinator
47. Magda Fathi Rashwan- Lawyer
48. Khaled Al Balshy- head of the Freedoms Committee in the press syndicate
Unionists:
49. Talal Shokr- Union organizer and the head of the Union of Pensioners
50. Salah Al Ansary - Union organizer and trainer
51. Tarek Mustafa, General Union of Real Estate Tax
52. Ashraf Al Laithy- President of the qualitative Trade Unions Federation of personnel Management and Administration
53. Al Desouqy Gaber - Trade unionist
54. Ahmed Galal Galal
55. Islam Wageih
56. Hassan Badawy- Journalist
57. Alaa Kamal
58. Mohamed Abo Qureesh
59. Mohamed Abdel Salam- Union member and lawyer
60. Mostafa Helmy- Poet and painter
61. Naguib Gwaily- Play Writer
62. Gamal Yehia Mahmoud – Secretary General of the independent drivers union in Port Said
63. Hassan Al Barbary- Accountant
64. Hosny Ahmed – Alexandria
65. Khaled Toson- Secretary General of The Permanent Conference of Alexandria Workers
66. Rasha Al Gibaly
67. Zainab Fouad – Egyptian Post
68. Adel Ibrahim- The independent union of Egypt Telecom and a member of the Egyptian Union of Labour
69. Abdo Atef- member of the Union of Social Insurance Workers
70. Effat Abdel Razek Mohamed- Al Shifa Hospital union
71. Magdy Salem- Helwan University
72. Mohamed Al Gamal- Egyptian Union for Labour
73. Mohamed Al Henawy
74. Mohamed El Saftawy – Egyptian Post
75. Mohamed Hamed Eika- Labour Activist
76. Mahmoud Youssef- Treasurer of the Union for Al Nahr El Khaled Company Workers
77. Mostafa Hamada- Head of the Union of External Trade workers union and member of the coordinate for defending freedoms
78. Motaz Al Shinawy, The Secretary of Mass Communication in The Popular Socialist Alliance Party, the Writer and Journalist, Alexandria
79. Nasif Hamdy – Arab Contractors
80. Wafik Derbala
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