Staff and students at Alexandria University on strike, 1 October From Assiyut to Alexandria, Egypt’s universities were largely paralysed by strikes organised by students and staff as term began. The strikes have been fuelled by demands to democratise senior university appointments and calls to get rid of university and faculty heads appointed by the old…
Translated from a report in Al-Ishtaraki newspaper, 1 October 2011. Original Arabic here Around three thousand workers from the Public Transport Authority blocked Qasr al-Aini street outside the parliament buildings in central cairo today, demanding increases to their wages, a rise of 200% in their incentive pay, and the resignation of Ahmad al-Borai, the Minister…
Global medical professionals demand immediate dropping of all charges against Bahraini medics Twenty medical professionals in Bahrain have been given prison sentences of five to fifteen years in jail by military court, for helping those wounded by the regime. According to Physicians for Human Rights, there is “hard evidence of systematic and co-ordinated attacks against…
Independent union leaders representing 45,000 Cairo Public Transport Authority workers appeared to have reached a deal to suspend the week-long strike on 27 September, following negotiations with the Minister of Labour, Ahmad al-Borai, Mona Mostafa, head of the Public Transport Authority and the Governor of Cairo. The agreement set down a timetable for meeting a…
A national security court in Bahrain issued lengthy jail sentences against President of the Bahraini Teachers’ Association, Mahdi Abu Dheeb and vice-president Jalila Salman on 25 September. Abu Dheeb was jailed for ten years, and Salman for three, for the ‘crime’ of calling for teachers to support peaceful protests and sit-ins in February this year.…
Statement in solidarity with students, teachers and staff in Egyptian universities and schools As the new term starts, we send our greetings in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Egypt who are fighting for an education system which meets the needs of society, instead of satisfying the demands of the market and the interests…
Update: 25 September – hundreds of health technicians protest outside parliament Health professionals and technical staff represented by the Egyptian Health Technologists Syndicate will join a strike from 25 September, after six months of fruitless negotiations over their demands the union said in a statement on 24 September. The union is fighting for better pay…
Tens of thousands of striking teachers brought central Cairo to a halt on 24 September in a huge protest outside the parliament buildings to press home their demands for the resignation of the Education Minister and improved pay and conditions. Delegations of teachers from across Egypt mobilised for the demonstration which was also joined by…
The national teachers’ strike continued on Thursday, with many areas reporting almost no schools working. In Suez governorate, 90% of schools were shut, for example. Meanwhile Education Minister Ahmad Gamal el-Din promised ‘tangible and positive results’ following discussions with the Ministry of Finance over funding for promotions and bonuses for 600,000 teachers, as well as…
MENA Solidarity Network 