Three thousand workers from the state-owned Misr Spinning and Weaving Company [MSWC] gathered outside the company headquarters in Mahalla on Tuesday to protest the decision to shut down electricity at the factories, and the continued refusal to meet workers’ demands. Workers at MSWC have been on strike since Sunday 6 August over the delayed payment…
Thousands of workers at the state-owned Misr Spinning complex in the Egyptian town of Mahalla began a strike on Sunday 6 August in protest at the delayed payment of bonuses, worth ten percent of their annual salaries. Pictures on social media and independent news websites show workers occupying parts of the factory. Attempts by the…
In a statement released today, leading academics and trade unionists from major UK and Australian universities condemned the tactics used by managers at the American University in Cairo (AUC) to end a strike by cleaning staff who are being laid off in preparation for the privatisation of the university’s Housekeeping service. Workers began a sit-in…
Middle East Solidarity magazine Issue 6 available from July 2017 Print copies £3 each or £20 for 10 (plus postage). Order direct from Bookmarks Bookshop A pdf version is available to download here: Middle East Solidarity issue 6 On the cover: Palestine: Resistance is Still Fertile Following a mass campaign of solidarity with hunger strikes by…
Veteran socialist activist Kamal Khalil was arrested this morning from his home, according to a Facebook post from his wife, who shared a picture of their home after security forces had searched it. Kamal is one of many Egyptian activists detained in recent weeks as part of an on-going crackdown which aims to silence critical…
An appeal court in Egypt has reduced lengthy jail sentences imposed on striking workers from Torah Cement. The court ruled on 18 June to cut the workers’ sentences from 3 years to two months. The Torah Cement workers are the latest group of worker activists in Egypt to face harsh repression for demanding their rights,…
UPDATE 18 June – appeal court reduces Torah Cement workers’ sentences from 3 years to 2 months in jail Security guards who took part in a sit-in to demand a contract after years of service with Torah Cement company were sentenced to three years in jail after a rushed, unfair trial in May this year.…
Hundreds of protesters converged on the Journalists’ Union building in downtown Cairo on 13 June, as Egypt’s parliament prepared to discuss a the controversial decision by the military regime to sell the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia. Security forces stormed the building and seized at least six protesters, according to reports from Egyptian…
The issue of forced disappearances and other human rights violations was high on the agenda at the annual congress of lecturers’ union UCU, held in Brighton on 27-29 May. The union pledged to continue support for the Truth for Giulio / Justice for Egypt’s Disappeared campaign in a resolution, while delegates heard a report back…
Well-known activist and campaigning lawyer Khaled Ali was held by police for questioning on 23 May, in the latest of a series of arrests to hit opposition groups in Egypt. Ali was reported by local media to have been detained at Dokki police station for questioning without formal charges being brought. Ali is a well-known…
Vaguely worded ‘counterterrorism’ laws are once again being used by the Egyptian authorities to clamp down criticism and silence campaigners and activists. Alexandria-based lawyer Mohamed Ramadan, who is well-known in the city for his work in defending trade unionists and political activists, was sentenced to ten years in jail this April for allegedly ‘insulting’ Egyptian…
Originally posted on MENA Solidarity Network:
Middle East Solidarity magazine Issue 5 available from March 2017 Print copies £3 each or £20 for 10 (plus postage). Order direct from Bookmarks Bookshop A pdf version is available to download here Middle East Solidarity Magazine Issue 5 – Web Version On the cover: Building the resistance to Trump:…
