This report is issue No. "65" of the Economic & Social Rights series. Through the news published by the Egyptian newspaper, the report shows how workers resisted and challenged the abusive government policies that led to the deterioration of living conditions and low wages and increasing the number of unemployed people in the three working sectors (governmental - private – business) during 2008. The report shows that the size of the protests has reached (609) in the three sectors that varied between (267) in the governmental sector, (235) in the private sector and (107) protests in the business sector. These protests varied in form between (253) gatherings, (174) sit-ins, (122) strikes and (60) demonstration cases. The month of December witnessed the highest rates of protests that amounted to (73) protests varied between (33) gatherings, (21) sit-ins, (12) strikes and (7) demonstrations. The month of September witnessed the lowest rates of protests that amounted to (33) protests varied between (13) gatherings, (13) sit-ins, (6) strikes and one demonstration. Al-Badeel newspaper was at the forefront of newspapers, which covered the protests by workers, as it published (209) articles, while Al-Naba'a, Al-Ommal, Rose Al Yousef, Al-Wafd and Al-Ahram newspapers were in the back by issuing one article in every newspaper.
The reasons for these protests in the three sectors during 2008 were because of the failure to pay financial receivables, amounting to (226) protests, followed by abuse and the intransigence of officials (44) with protests, unfair dismissal (40) protests, non-installation (39) protests, the demand for a wage increase (31) protests, the high prices of gasoline and diesel (19) protests, the non-recruitment and sale or liquidation (15) protests, low wages (13) protests, the reduction of wages (12) protests, all of the arbitrary and transport and other transport markets (7) protests, preventing the functioning of transport vehicles or Tok Tok (6) protests, the confiscation of vehicles and Tok Tok and claim a special cadre (5) protests, the claim of equal pay, and oblige the citizens of literacy (4) protests, non-renewal of contracts and exclusion from work and deteriorating financial conditions and non-functional settlement of the situation and forced to submit mass resignations and the withdrawal of licenses of drivers licenses or car (3) protests, non-recruitment and job vacancy levels of liberalization and new contracts and the reduction of economic activities and forced to go out on early retirement and to pass on the assignment of citizens arbitrarily and non-inclusion of employees of some companies of the Holding Company and the transfer of positions and raise the value of the market or rent a meter shop and prevention of the entry port and the high price of wood and iron and the confiscation of shares or reduction of drums and the claim of non-renewal of contracts or the transfer of workers brought together companies and calling for lifting the taxis and the poor condition of roads and the stagnation of sales in the markets and the separation of electricity companies under sunny skies, followed by a protest, one for each of the deprivation of pension solidarity and demolition of buildings, bodies and departments of misusing public funds and stop the wheel drivers licenses and the imposition of royalties and fees increased and the exploitation of Alcartp campaigns cars in the security and the withdrawal of equipment from construction contractors and retail outlets to request a non-activation of the appointment and to stop the share of precise assessments and the withdrawal of the territory of the company the benefit of the party and the evacuation of others and to stop the contract and the electricity company has mandated the collection of fees for cleaning and raising the amount of the fine and to prevent the signing of the presence of companies and a mock auction and the transfer of workers from second to third grades and the sale of companies without the allocation of land and beyond the security of workers and companies to prevent the exit of the waste conservation and the issuance of custodial sentences and diesel mixed with gasoline and non-recovery of the flour quotas corrupt and lack of access to a professional driver's license and to demand the sale of the company's territory of workers and failure to provide necessary funding for the purchase of cotton and the lifting of sanctions against workers and the rise of the financial level of the first and second hours of work and the demand to join the Ministry of Finance and the evacuation of housing units for Mhalin of the pension claim of ownership of houses and refused to dress Almsalehy for non-conformity with the specifications and non-payment of meal and the month of Ramadan and the abolition of the computational units and annexation to another, and the secondment of employees to work a private company and the closure of a street trade, the estimates of the random fines and non-inclusion of a temple on the tourist map and non-insurance for workers against the risks and increase the vulnerability of tariff and the delivery of stalls to a private company and demand the return of one of the unions and refused to conduct tests on staff and the demand to adjust the situation and calls for amendment of a law and the transfer of street vendors on the population-based and non-delivery of stores, rather than removed, and not to accept the credentials of the Registration Committee of journalists and the lack of words and not to increase the quota of flour and prevent the expansion taking place in factories and the removal of fish cages and difficult conditions by the officials and the collection of amounts for the Fund to maintain services and refused to give licenses and rental shops to reduce the claim and the claim for the ambulance company and not to increase the price of transport and raise the value of permits for the delegates of insurance and raise the value of the customs and inconsistencies in the application of tariffs and refusal to renew driver's licenses.
The report is divided into the following sections:
· The first section of the report presents workers' protests in the governmental sector, showing the forms of these protests and the reasons for making these protests.
· The second section of the report presents workers' protests in the private sector, showing the forms of these protests and the reasons for making these protests.
· The third section of the report presents workers' protests in the business sector, showing the forms of these protests and the reasons for making these protests.
Then the report reviews some conclusions and remarks presented as follows:
· Some strikes have witnessed some developments in the quality of in terms of demands and gains, as tax officials have been able to form a trade union forcing the Egyptian society to accept the concept of multi-union.
· Workers' strikes and protests revealed the deterioration of the situation of the General Federation of Workers, its General Syndicates and Syndicate Committees and their failure to adopt the demands of the protesters. At the same time revealed the increased role of state security service in most of the protests to intervene, arrest, negotiate and resolve protests by force if necessary.
· The protests revealed the weak position of the Labor officials and their limited political experience and right information about workers' problems, their intransigence of negligence of workers' rights, and their exclusion of social and economic aspects when dealing with the problems of the protesters, which has contributed to the increasing rise in the number of strikes and protests.
· The increased attention to mass protests and anger by some independent newspapers, satellite channels and Internet sites, and the emergence of institutions and labor groups to monitor the protests and strikes regularly.
· A lot of protests have achieved their demands, revealing that the success of workers to organize themselves and their innovation to develop means of protests, which have led to the expansion of solidarity at the local and international levels, thus contributing to the success of Egyptians to take their rights.
· The international economic and financial crisis led to a growing labor anger after a number of companies in the new industrial cities to reduce the size of the encroachment on workers and wages, especially in the sectors of the crisis that led to a reduction in prices such as iron or fertilizers. The Egyptian government also dealt with the negative effects of the economic crisis with the reaction and the logic of ignorance, as officials asserted with the beginning of the crisis that it will not impact the Egyptian economy or the conditions of Egyptian workers, and then quickly changed their views to recognize the crisis and deal with it partially.
Finally, the report presents a number of recommendations to improve the conditions of workers and the protesters and ensure their humane rights:
· Change the Egyptian government with a national coalition government of favoring the low-income workers with a view to the application of alternative strategies and policies that address the negative impacts of economic crisis, particularly for wage earners to improve their wages, stop their displacement and the violation of their rights, the application of fairer social programs to address the negative effects of the crisis on the rights of wage earners and to ensure access to support them in proportion Paralleled with the Government's current business owners and companies.
· To amend the Trade Unions Act No. 35 of 76 so as to allow multi-trade unions, guarantee the right to withdraw from or join unions, and to prevent the guardianship of the government bodies and trade union organizations allowing the general assembly of the union the authority to take all decisions as the highest authority in the trade union organization, while allowing the exercise of the right to strike and demonstrate and protest.
· To improve the conditions of the civil rights laws by amending the parties, associations, and the exercise of political rights laws to allow citizens to exercise their rights to participate in the regulation and assembly, without the patronage of government and to ensure representation of all classes of people and classes in the formation of policy and program management and oversight of the application of those policies and to stop the rampant corruption in state institutions and stop the waste in management of our resources will not be only the application of starter power Tdoual free election in all state institutions and the abolition of emergency law and the release of all detainees and to ensure that all political and civil rights of citizens in Egypt.
· The application of the insurance and health care to ensure a dignified life for the elderly and guarantee them a monthly income of at least two hundred thousand pounds should also amend the Employment Act No. 12 of 2003 to facilitate the procedures for access to unemployment allowance, which should be no less than 600 pounds per month to provide a minimum of decent living citizens in Egypt.
· To provide the workers with their late financial dues and stop the abuse and the neglect of the departments and officials to ignore the demands of the protesters and to prevent unfair dismissal policies and work to install temporary employment and improve wages and the application of international labor standards and ensure a minimum level of living to at least 1200 pounds per month and to meet the demands of the strikers in the different sectors of employment.
· Modification of the program management of state assets, which put the National Party amendment to allow the assessment of the outcome of privatization programs and the ways in which this was to divert the proceeds of the involvement and accountability in the operations of corruption accompanied by any previous operations as well as the need to ensure that the management of participatory democracy in the future when the State bear the historical responsibility of running this sector to address corruption and imbalance in the sector and to improve the mess, and productivity, and allow this administration to monitor the new institutions of civil society for its work, and ensure the payment of dividends on the profits of public services and improve the conditions of economic and social infrastructure and to ensure that health care and education for workers with a limited income and the advancement of our society and addressing the negative impacts of economic liberalization policies .
The Center asserts that the strikes of workers and other social groups during 2008 were a shining path for the future of our country, they led to wrest the rights and demands of the protesters, helped change our society for the better and enabled thousands of workers and protesters to live freely and in safety and dignity and without discrimination.
The Center calls upon all institutions of the civil society, members of the People's Council and local parties to support the Egyptian protest movements and unions to ensure the rights of people to decent employment opportunities and dignified life to build a bright future for our country more just and more humane to ensure safety, equality and freedom for all citizens in our country, as guaranteeing their human rights will contribute to the making of a better tomorrow.
The full report will be published on our website as soon as we finish the translation