April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

neutral until this moment," said Mohamed, refuting news circulated on the
Internet that the army attacked the plant, fired bullets in the air and
threatened to arrest striking workers.
Shebin El-Kom Textiles Company workers held a 35-day long sit-in to
protest against the Indonesian management’s attempts at eliminating the
workforce and dismantling factories in order to reuse the 152 acres of land
on which the factory stands. Now they say that they will not end their sitin
until all their demands are met.
Energy
Meanwhile, on Monday 11th April, employees at 14 power stations began a
series of strikes to push for the removal of ministry officials involved in
corruption cases.
Energy Ministry spokesman Aktham Abul Ela denied any strikes were taking
place, pointing out that he had communicated with a number of company
officials and that they had assured him “things were good.”
In a statement obtained by Al-Masry Al-Youm, the employees say that most
ministries have witnessed wide-scale changes after the 25 January
revolution while theirs have not.
The workers said they have submitted memorandums to the Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces and the cabinet calling for the dismissal of
several senior figures in the energy sector, who, they claim, have held
their positions for a long time but have contributed nothing to the sector.
The statement pointed out that the electricity sector was not affected
during the 25 January revolution only because the employees in this field
are aware of their important national role. It went on to say that a similar
protest would be organized on Wednesday.
Suez Canal workers
On Tuesday 12th April, Dr. Essam Sharaf, the Egyptian prime minister,
gave orders to the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Ahmed Fadel,
to put an end to the crisis from the protests of workers from seven
companies affiliated to the Suez Canal Authority.
“We were informed of the prime minister’s order, which responded to
thousands of workers,” said Nasser Othman, the secretary of the Workers
Union fund of the Suez Maritime Arsenal Company. He added that he and
the workers have made an official complaint against the chairman of the
board of the Company as he refused to meet the demands of the
protesting workers.
The workers started to protest on 3 April. When their demands were not
met, the protest quickly developed into a strike. Most of the workers are
striking within their respective company’s headquarters.
Other workers' actions
Some 350 butane gas cylinder distributors in the Delta governorate of
Daqahlia staged demonstrations before the Ministry of Social Solidarity in
the city of Talkha, in protest against the ministry reducing the number of
cylinders they receive.
In Cairo, 200 Tax Authority employees also staged protests, demanding
salaries and bonuses commensurate with their qualifications.
Another 45 people staged demonstrations before the office of the Justice