Workers from Alexandria Shipyard are on trial in an Egyptian military court for taking strike action to demand better pay and conditions at work. They were arrested after staging a sit-in at the yard to call for payment of bonuses, permanent contracts for 36 temporary workers who should by law have already received them and to allow workers to receive promised promotions. Military police surrounded the workers who took part in the sit-in and arrested 13 of them together with a clerical worker.

The trial verdict has now been postponed for the fourth time, and is expected on 18 October.

Read the open letter from Egyptian trade unionists calling on the global labour movement to mobilise in solidarity with the Alexandria Shipyard workers here.

What you can do:

• Sign the international petition in solidarity with the Alexandria Shipyard workers here
• Use our social media banner and icons to spread the message online
• Download a poster for solidarity pictures here: alexshipyard_A4poster
• Pass a resolution in protest at the trial through your union branch
• Read more here on how military trials are being used to rush through unjust verdicts based on ‘evidence’ obtained through torture
• Download a copy of our background briefing on the Egyptian workers’ movement here

Military police surround striking workers at Alexandria Shipyard (pic via No Military Trials on Facebook)