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1999’ FIRST HALF WITNESSES 90 LABORERS’ PROTESTS IN EGYPT
The issuance of this report came at the time the number of laborers’ protests against government deeds has tremendously increased. These protests, which reached in number to 80 protests during the period extend from 1/12/1998 to 31/5/1999—are constitute a clear indication on the deteriorated conditions of laborers. Laborer protests were only 100 during last year. The publishing of this report also came after the endorsement of law No 153 for 1999, few weeks ago by the majority of the Egyptian parliament. This law which totally ignored all the remarks made by non-governmental organizations and human rights on its draft.
This law undoubtedly has affirmed the government’s hegemony on these organizations’ work activities. That is because it has conditioned for function of these institutions to be fully licensed and not as before to sufficed by notifying the authorities of its presence. The law does also empower the concerned executive directorate to suspend the liabilities of these institutions’ general assembly, that would be through objecting the nomination of its founders and those selected to lead its management board of directors. This objection could be also on the basic charter of these organizations or on its decisions that viewed by this executive directorate as defying the law.
Aside from the law and its disadvantages. The deliberations on the law draft that run at the People’s Assembly have revealed how much human right organizations are hated by the system, which its real intention is to control the activities of the entire civil work in the country. The government has actually staged such move after it has firmly put under control all laborers and professional syndicates and in the same time restricted political parties and press by restrictive legislation.
Notwithstanding, this report also is issued at an important historical moment on the history of development process of Egypt’s human rights movement. This movement proved to be an integral part of the country’s contemporary democratic development process and which its principle is to create a democratic homeland under which all citizens would enjoy their rights in better life and have a full freedom.
Therefore, this report, which is the seventh in the series of the center of "ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS", is handling in brief the adverse consequences of the country’s economic reform policy that largely effected many laborers following its implementation. The report also tries to show how the government running social security instruments has failed protecting the poor categories of the nation. The report also tries through demonstrating many of laborer protests to show the negative stances of the laborers’ syndicates. On demonstrating all that, we would to notify that Egypt's laborers have no right to stage protest or go into strikes or make peaceful gatherings. All that happens at the time Egypt’s law has allowed laborers to have theirs own associations apart from those governmental oriented syndicates. Despite this fact, laborer movement is still brimming with much protest that aim at attaining the laborers’ rights starting from their right in working to objecting against dismissal decisions and deducting of their allowance and bonuses.
The report indicates that over the period it is covering there was 80 protest. The report also shows that despite these protests and strikes have staged at industrial sectors, they were all mostly prompted by management reduction of laborers’ salaries, wages and pensions. In the same respect, the report cited the content of the "Arab Strategic Report" for 1999. This report has affirmed that what the Egyptian laborers earned during 1999 of salaries, wages and pension was about 48,5% of the country’s gross national income. This figure reduced to indicate that what the laborers really earn is about 28,5 of the gross national income of 1998. On the other hand, the Arab’s report has also indicated that property ownership right has raised from 51,55 in 1990 to reach 71,5 in 1998. It shown also that the most richest (20% of Egypt’s citizens) are controlling the major portion of the country income that is more 20% than that of the national income reported in countries like Sweden, Denmark Finland and Austria.
Land Center’s report also points to the noticeable rising in unemployment and poverty rates and souring of housing, education and health problems, which all ascribed to the implementation of economic reform policies in the country. The consequence of these policies implementation has probes many laborers to stage various sorts of protest in a trial to meet the necessary leaving demands (food, clothes and housing). The strange is that some other sectors of the manpower known to top the nation social ladder, such as pilots, tax directors and teachers, were also among those involved in protests. Their bid was to rise their payment after it had became not up to the leaving requirements.
The report also shows that most of these protests occurred during the pervious period were due to the following reasons.
First: selling of government owned enterprise companies. To achieve this step companies’ management has adopted many approaches to get ride of its workforce. First of which was by adopting the transfer of laborers to remote areas to oblige its laborers quit the work in failure to adhere to transfer orders. That has happened for 2472 laborers of Cotton Ginning factories. They have ordered to be transferred from the company premises in Zafftia to El-Mansoura – about 60 km apart. The same also happened for the 1600 laborers of the Gut Company in Shubra suburb of Cairo City, whom transferred to the company’s factory in Bilbais town in Sharkia province. The second approach followed by other companies to get ride of its manpower was the dismissal from work. That is happened in the Egyptian Company for Gripes, which its board of management prevent 532 laborers from entering the company’s premises by using polices forces that guarded the company’s entrances.
The third approach was by introducing early retirement scheme without laborers effected approval. This is happened in the Engineering Industries Company, which its management decided to send 1048 laborers to early retirement. The same approach used by National Company for Metals Industries. The company management sent 300 laborers to early pension that despite many laborers protests for being not benefited from this decision or for being not got its full rights of pension.
Second: Wagers and allowances; many of the nation factories have witnessed several strikes and set-on during the past period in protest against deducting of their allowances. Such was clear evident in the strike lunched by laborers of Al-Gharbeya Mill Company. The laborers of this company declared their strike and set-on in the company’s premises till the company’s management withdraw its decision to reduce their allowance approved since last year. The same also happened at some other industrial sites such as General Motors company and Nile for Ready-made Clothes Company. At the latter, the female laborers staged a demonstration to protest against reducing of their allowances. This demonstration did not ended until they have paid their backdated dues. Other companies were so harsh in dealing with this issue as they have totally concealed all the allowances and bounces that laborers used to have every year. This happened at the Niaza for electrical industries, Ferro-silicon Company and Mit Ghamer Textile Company.
The most noticeable in all these protests are the insistence of the management on their decisions and the interference of police forces to end laborers’ protests. This was evident in what happened at The German- Egyptian for Electrical Transformers company. At this company the police forces have besieged the company’s premises to end the set-in of the laborers. Moreover, when they failed in doing that they have disconnect the company’s water and electricity supply, but the protesters have lent the support of the natives dwelled around the company’s premises.
Third: Disappointment of the laborers; In this regard, it appeared from a report prepared by the ministry of Social affairs that there are 1720 company not ensuring their factories’ laborers. Moreover, a few are those who made insurance for a limited number of their laborers though indicated low payment for them. The same report showed that 51,5% of the private sector laborers are subscribed to insurance with payment less than LE 40 a month. And there is 13,3 % of these laborers subscribing with payments less than LE 50 a month. For this reason many of the laborers have protested for being not appointed at their workplaces. For instance, 2820 labor in Talkha Electricity station entered in strike to protest against their disappointment, most of whom were in the services for more than three years. At the Covered Irrigation project 2700 laborers threaten to enter in a strike had not covered by insurance. Most of these have seven years in services.
Land Center report also indicates that new categories of the nation manpower have involved in this wave of strikes witnessed during the past six months of 1999. For instance, it was for the first time in its history that pilots of the national carrier Egyptian to stage a strike, which started on January 2, 1999 and continued for a month. The aim of this strike was that to force the management approves the demands of Egyptian pilots. Moreover the management in a trial to over come this problem had seek the assistance of Arab pilots who refused to answer it request. The situation has worsened as the company’s technicians, co-pilots and other ground staff declare their solidarity with pilots. But the most noticeable is that police forces are not interfered to this strike.
The same has practiced by the Real Assets taxation Department’s employees for the first time. These employees protested against the minister of finance for his refusal to equally treat them like their colleagues in General taxation department. In pursuing this demand they have filed many complaints and memos to all concerned ministers, but to no avail. So that they have finally staged a demonstration in front of the People’s Assembly requesting the attainment of their demand.
Also at the Higher Council for Youth and Sports, the officials there protested against the Council director decision to reduce the nature of work allowance for 10% to 5% only. But police forces have rapidly moved to the Council premises and besieged it. The strike ended when the Giza governor personally intervened and met the officials’ request.
It is noticeable that most of these protests have ended in satisfactory results for both sides simply because of some senior officials’ interference in settling them away from the companies and factories management that totally failed in ending them.
The Land Center report ends in giving a set of recommendations among the most important of which are: 1- liberating the right of strike from all the restrictions. 2-Including of all rights and guarantees stipulated in present legislation of public and private sector laborers in the draft of the Unified Labor law. The report said to be discussed by PA during its upcoming session. Taking in consideration that those rights include the legal guarantees of the dismissed labor. 3- amending the article of the draft that violates the right of women and child.
Finally, Land Center forwards this report to all officials concerned, popular and laborers leadership to work together and stand firmly against attempts being made to infringe laborers’ rights. It also call on them to struggle to have a law that would guarantee the labor dignity and rights. The Center also forwards this report to all citizens to know more about the situation of the laborers rights. That is in order to assist in improving these rights. That to have at the end a democratic homeland under which all citizen would enjoy the peace and prosperity.