CAIRO - A senior labour activist Sunday urged workers to turn out en masse for a parliamentary election and bolster their presence in the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Parliament). Hussein Megawer, the Secretary-General of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), called on workers to help their colleagues gain parliamentary seats by ensuring a high turnout in Sunday's polls. "Our labour voters should participate in the elections and give their vote to the candidates, who would serve their interests and preserve their rights," Megawer told workers in a message. As the polls started Sunday, the ETUF mounted a media campaign in industrial hubs to urge a high labour turnout, which would “show the popularity of union representatives and leaders who won parliamentary seats in 2005 by promising to protect the workers' rights, privileges and advantages”. Megawer has repeatedly been criticised, even by some of his ETUF allies, for his handling of the labour action and protests, which occurred this year. Megawer, who refrained from endorsing any labour candidate (s) competing for the 508-seat legislature, called on workers to vote for candidates, who have been fielded by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). "Workers and farmers, who occupy 50 per cent of the Assembly seats, should vote for those who have always fought for labour rights," the ETUF chairman said in his statement, which has been e-mailed to The Egyptian Gazette.
