Despite ongoing attempts by the military to break their strike, bus workers in Cairo rejected a proposed deal on Monday 26 March. The workers are demanding a lump sum on retirement equivalent to 100 months pay, and for the bus service to be taken over the Ministry of Transport. To send a message of solidarity…
Thousands of workers at the Public Transport Authority in Cairo are continuing their strike. The bus workers are fighting against corruption in the PTA, for better pay and conditions, and for investment in the public transport system. They have been asking how come the PTA makes millions of pounds in profits while bus workers earn…
A PDF version of the new MENA bulletin on Bahrain can be downloaded here: Bahrain Bulletin March2012 The bulletin features the latest news on the repression of trade unionists following the uprising last year, and shows how the UK government is continuing to sell arms to the Bahraini government. It also reveals how a member…
MENA Solidarity Network will publish an 8 page briefing on the role of women workers in the Egyptian revolution to mark International Women’s Day this year. Featuring interviews with activists from the teachers’ unions, health service, local government and media, it shows a hidden side of the Egyptian revolution. [Update: 13 March: read the briefing…
Statement by the Women’s Committee of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions on the question of the right of women to participate in the Constitutional Drafting Committee. 6 March 2012 An expanded meeting of the Women’s Committee of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), which represents hundreds of thousands of women workers,…
MPs and trade union leaders expressed their deep concern today at a recent series of attacks on independent trade unionists and activists in Egypt. Over the past few weeks there have been a number of high profile cases where independent trade unionists and their supporters have faced physical attacks and legal harassment because of their…
The leaders of the Independent Public Transport Authority Workers Union which represents tens of thousands of bus workers in Cairo were ambushed and seriously injured in an incident at the Public Transport Authority Headquarters in Nasr City, Cairo on 29 February. Adel al-Shazly, the independent union president, Mohammed Abd-al-Sattar, union treasurer and Tareq Mohammed al-Sayyid,…
Hundreds of Bahraini workers protested outside the Ministry of Labour in Manama on 1 March, demanding their unconditional reinstatement. Around 2000 workers were sacked from their jobs in relation to the mass pro-democracy protests that began in February of last year. Some have been reinstated, but many of those have been forced to accept worse…
Hundreds of court workers chanting during their occupation of the court buildings in Giza. Thousands of court and prosecution service workers were reported to have organised sit-ins and protests across Egypt as part of a national strike which began on 28 February. The strikers are calling for improved salaries and improved conditions at work. Court…
School students from Zahran and Sidi Gaber schools in Alexandria chanting against military rule on 12 February The campaign for a general strike and civil disobedience across Egypt to demand the removal of the ruling military council brought tens of thousands of university and school students out in protest on 11 and 12 February. There…
MENA Solidarity Network 