Egypt sent an invitation to the trade unions of the Nile Basin countries for a meeting in Cairo in September to discuss common issues facing the Nile Basin countries in light of the recent political, economic and social ramifications. Trade Unions Federation President Hussein Megawer said the Federation will host the Nile Basin Workers Forum, pointing out that he has invited all the trade union heads for the Nile Basin Workers Forum that will be held in September to discuss aspects of cooperation and mutual coordination among the Nile Basin countries, as well as ways to cope with all foreign interventions in those countries. In his meeting with the Federation board members and the heads of the trade unions at the Federation's Headquarters yesterday, Megawer said Egypt will not waive its historical quota of the Nile water, asserting that he would hold bilateral meetings with the delegations that will attend the forum to ask them to urge their countries to resist any attempts seeking to undermine Egypt's quota of the Nile water. He pointed out that Egypt will not delay or decline its support for the African continent in general, and the Nile Basin countries in particular, stressing that the security of Egypt is part of the security and stability of the African continent. He asked the heads of the trade unions to strengthen their relations with the respective unions in Africa, especially in the Nile Basin countries that are part of Egypt's national security, with the aim of deepening ties between the African countries. He said that the founding of the Nile River Lovers Association in Egypt is a pivotal step towards deepening relations among the countries of the basin and towards preserving the Nile water. He also said that he will ask the union leaders and the civil society organizations to join the association, support the agriculture and irrigation trade unions of the Nile Basin countries, protect the Nile water from pollution and train agricultural labor. On the other hand, the trade union leaders have in the meeting emphasized the independence of the trade unions, their solidarity in defending the interests of the workers and their support to the Weaving Union in its first legitimate strike demanding the rights of the workers of Tanta Linen Co. The Federation decided to pay LE 75,000 in wages to the workers of the Nubariya Agricultural Mechanization Co. for the month of June, until a ruling is issued for the criminal proceedings against the main investor, who owns 70% of the shares of that non-operational company. The Federation also decided to expand the training programs of the judicial committee members, as well as the social dialogue culture programs that are put in coordination with the ILO to include the trade union members in the provinces.
