Egypt: 15,000 workers strike and occupy giant factory - and win

Author: Traven Leyshon

Hossam al-Hamalawy, an Egyptian blogger, journalist, and labor activist currently at Berkeley's School of Journalism, is reporting on his blog that 15,000 workers at the Ghazl al-Mahallah textile factory in Egypt have gone on strike.

Ghazl al-Mahallah is the biggest textile factory in the Middle East, with over 27,000 workers comprising its total labor force. Workers have occupied the factory, including men, women, and their children, and the numbers are increasing during the daytime. Even retired workers in the area are showing up at the compound to join in solidarity. Details.

Most troubling, Hamalawy reports that the Egyptian Labor Minister, Aisha Abdel Hadi, and the General Federation for Textile Workers (a government union), have declared the strike illegal, basically opening up the way for police to bust it, probably violently. Details.

This is a hot and developing story, and to my knowledge, no Western news outlet has yet to cover it. I've just spoken to Hamalawy on the phone, and he tells me that his contacts at the strike are asking if labor organizations or media in the West have begun reporting on the story, as they need it desperately to empower themselves vis-a-vis the government, which may act soon to crack down on the strike, and the company. Details.

The workers are calling for: (details).

1) Impeachment of the company's board chairman
2) Impeachment of the Factory Union Commitee officials
3) Linking monthly incentives to a fixed percentage of the monthly salary
4) Increasing the food allowance to match rising food prices
5) Raising salaries to match inflation
6) Paying workers the 130-day as as part of their annual share of profits
7) Solving the transportation crisis
8) Paying a housing allowance to the workers

According to Hamalawy, attention, support, and coverage are urgently needed at this point. Hamalawy is able and willing to give interviews to any journalists or activists who wish to cover this story (he worked for the LA Times in the past, and recently gave an interview about Labor in Egypt to KPFA's Flashpoints program), and can also provide journalists with sources in Egypt.