The Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) voted on Thursday on replacing its head Gebaly El-Maraghy with Abdel Fatah Ibrahim. The federation also appointed Mohamed Salem as deputy head, Abdel Moneim Al-Gamal as treasurer and Khaled Shaaban as Secretary General, reported state-run Al-Ahram. Ibrahim had met with Minister of Manpower and Immigration Kamal Abu Eita alongside other ETUF members to notify the minister with their decision, reported Al-Ahram. The new formation of the union was soon ratified by Abu Eita. In a statement released on the ETUF website, Abu Eita denied that the ministry or the cabinet issued a decision to dissolve the union's administration. Abu Eita stated that such a decision is an internal one that the cabinet cannot involve itself with. El-Maraghy was prevented from entering a societal dialogue session on the workers union bill held at the Ministry of Manpower on Saturday. The former union head was told his name was not on the list of the attendees, Al-Ahram reported. The incident was condemned in an ETUF statement released by Magdy Al-Badawy, former union deputy head. Al-Badawy claimed El-Maraghy was prevented from entering the session so that only the opinions of independent unions are expressed. The ETUF went back on its support for the Workers Union bill, alleging that unwelcome changes were made to some articles in the bill, reported Al-Ahram. The move sparked tension between the union and the ministry. El-Maraghy was appointed on Sunday as representative for the ETUF within the 50-member constituent assembly tasked with amending the 2012 suspended constitution.
