Egypt's largest workers' action in 20 years began on Sunday. Karim El-Khashab examines the ramifications of this latest strike On Sunday, workers at the state run textile and weaving company Ghazl Al-Mahala began one of the largest industrial protests of the past two decades, with 27,000 workers downing tools. The strike, say the workers, is a continuation of the action taken in December, when production at the plant was halted. On Saturday night, police forces had surrounded the factory only to withdraw, fearing direct confrontation with the workers. Meanwhile , Minister of Manpower Aisha Abdel-Hady said that action can only be taken once the strike is ended. The workers have repeated many of the demands they first made in December, and to which the government agreed, only to backtrack on its promises. They include the payment of overdue bonuses, an increase in salaries and better medical services and transport facilities. The workers are also insisting that board chairman Mahmoud El-Gibali be suspended pending investigation into the alleged misuse of funds, and that union officials attached to the state-controlled General Federation of Trade Unions be impeached. Mohamed Attar, a factory worker and one of the organisers of the current strike, spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly shortly before he was detained, and said workers were more determined than ever to achieve their goals. "It has become an issue of life and death for us now," he said, explaining that the workers had no choice but to strike after factory and union officials had failed to act and the government broke its earlier promises. "There was real hope and confidence that the government understood our plight last December and would act accordingly," said Attar. Now, he added, the workers feel betrayed and are in much more militant mood. Attar was arrested on Monday, accused with three others of disrupting production and promoting unrest. Before being detained he told the Weekly he expected the government would act against him and other labour leaders and then attempt to cut a deal with workers once they were rudderless. "We don't fear arrest or the police, and if they are hoping to cut a deal after our arrests they will be disappointed," he said, arguing that the mood among workers in Mahala had developed momentum of its own. It is the first time since December that the authorities have detained workers' leaders. The strike began when evening shift workers laid down their tools on Sunday. They were joined on Monday by morning shift workers, including 3,000 women, some of whom brought their children. The workers began to chant their demands, including the payment of bonuses of LE150 each. The chants then changed as workers named members of the factory's management and demanded they be brought to account. Layla Abdel-Moneim, a worker at the factory, says the management has consistently failed to pay bonuses despite targets being met. "They said that if we made LE60 million in profit we would receive our annual bonus. Profits have exceeded LE200 million and still no bonuses have been paid." As the protest continued demands turned from worker-related grievances to denunciations of the government and calls were made for President Hosni Mubarak to intervene. The strikers also carried coffins bearing the names of senior managers as well as Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin. News that strike leaders had been arrested fuelled the growing mood of anger. El-Gibali told the Weekly that the allegations made against him were false and that the workers had overstepped the mark in this latest strike. "They seem to want to take things by force without understanding the circumstances the company is facing," he said, adding that the profit figures quoted by the workers are inaccurate and that the company has yet to meet its targets. Neither the management, nor the government, is in a mood to be bullied by such actions, he added. Asked whether he thought Attar and others should be prosecuted, El-Gibali responded that they had been warned earlier of the likely consequences of a strike. Minister Abdel-Hadi seemed to weigh in on El-Gibali's side when she told the Weekly that the workers must act "sensibly". "There are legitimate and illegitimate ways to negotiate, and the workers should not follow those who use illegitimate means if they want real solutions," she said, adding that many of the workers' demands have already been met. Abdel-Hadi concedes that more should be done to meet workers' grievances, but argues action can only be taken once the strike is ended. The minister had declared on Sunday that the strike had ended, only to be wrong footed when workers escalated the action the following morning. Meanwhile, workers at the Kafr Al-Dawar textile mill have issued a statement saying they will take action in solidarity with the strikers, starting Tuesday. Railway employees have made a similar pledge. The strikers also have the backing of Kifaya, the Egyptian movement for change, most opposition parties and many civil society organisations. Workers in Mahala, while welcoming such expressions of solidarity, are keen to dismiss allegations that they are being used by any political faction, especially not the Muslim Brotherhood. "We don't want anything from anyone," one worker said. "This is a worker-led action. We will not be used as anyone's political tool." Yet there is no question that the workers' demands, which had initially focussed on specific grievances, have taken on a more political complexion following the arrest of eight strike leaders. Current demands now include the holding of union elections without state security interference. Indeed, the police and state security personnel are increasingly the subject of workers' anger and so, by extension, is the state.
