Labour unions step up in Egyptian protests, protesters now in front of Parliament

[the_future_modernes]

LIVE BLOGS
Al Jazeera Live Blog Feb10


Guardian Blog

• Talks between the Egyptian regime and opposition figures are on the brink of collapse
• The Egyptian military has been involved in beatings and other abuses, according to an investigation by the Guardian
• Egypt's provinces have seen widespread protests, in further signs that the uprising has spread beyond the major cities
• A wave of strikes erupted across the economy, including railway workers, public employees and electricity staff
It sounds like the next big protest is being planned for Friday but there will be more to come tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

11.26pm: Canada's Globe and Mail has an interview with Ahmed Saleh, a former member of the April 6 Youth Movement and one of the earliest protesters, on what happens next:

MORE

UNION STRIKES

A 2009 article from Reuters mentions that fact that Egyptians had been increasingly striking in order to up pay and work conditions over the past couple of years.Egyptian worker demands, government responds Reuters thought back then that the strike objectives would not become wider demands for change.

Now, labor unions are joining the revolution Labour unions boost protests

Thousands of factory workers stay away from work as pro-democracy protesters continue to rally seeking Mubarak's ouster.

Egyptian labour unions have gone on a nationwide strike, adding momentum to pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities.

Al Jazeera correspondents, reporting from Egypt, said around 20,000 factory workers stayed away from work on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera's Shirine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said that some workers "didn't have a political demand".

"They were saying that they want better salaries, they want an end to the disparity in the pay, and they want the 15 per cent increase in pay that was promised to them by the state."

However, Tadros also said that some workers were calling for Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, to step down.

The strike action came as public rallies calling for Mubarak to immediately hand over power entered their 16th day.

MORE

Interview: Fatma Ramadan:Building Egypt's new labor movement

Building Egypt's new labor movement
February 8, 2011

In the five years prior to Egypt's popular uprising, Egyptian workers have repeatedly demonstrated their capacity to fight against their employers and Hosni Mubarak's police state. While textile workers have led the way with dramatic, high-profile strikes, the new labor activism has involved workers in several industries.

Fatma Ramadan, a trade unionist, labor researcher and socialist in Egypt, has been deeply involved in the new workers' movement. In an interview conducted shortly before the the mass demonstrations took off at the end of January, she spoke with spoke with Lee Sustar at the recent Other Davos conference in Basel, Switzerland.MORE

Demonstrations and strikes across Egypt

Thousands of Luxor's unemployed and those affected by the impaired tourism sector gathered in front of the Labour Force Authority to register their names and seek compensation and financial aid as designated by the ministry of finance.

Head of the authority Abdraboh Hassan said that its employees have worked from eight in the morning receiving applications and registering them. He added that owners of small businesses, investors and businessmen have the right to apply for compensation as well, though not through the authority.

A large number sought unemployment benefit, many of whom graduates or diploma holders from the classes but were unable to find jobs. Others applicants do not hold regular jobs or have been afflicted by the suspension of tourism.MORE

Egypt: A new wave of workers strikes and sit-ins

Following the “Million Man" demonstrations and mass strikes that escalated across Egypt on Tuesday, a new wave of mass strikes and workers' sit-ins also spread on Wednesday.

Ahram Online has been receiving continuous reports of strikes breaking out in both public and private companies across the country, many of which are still being confirmed. At the time of publishing, the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) had confirmed the following:

More than 2000 workers started a strike in Helwan’s silk factories and circulated the office of the company’s chairman demanding his exclusion.

Thousands of workers have started a strike in Helwan’s coke factories demanding higher wages and full-time contracts.

In Mahala's Spinning and Weaving factory, hundreds started a sit-in in front of the administration building.

In Kafr El-Zaiat hospital, 1500 nurses started a sit-in demanding their late wages.

Four hundred workers in Suez’s Egypt National Steel Factory started an open strike demanding higher wages.

In Menoufeia, more than 750 of Schweppes factory workers started a sit-in demanding higher wages.

More than 800 of the spinning and weaving workers in Menoufeia started a sit-in demanding higher wages.MORE

PROTESTERS BLOCKING PARLIAMENT

Egypt: Protestors block Parliament

Protesters in Cairo gathered outside Egypt's parliament on Wednesday, demanding that the assembly be dissolved as part of their campaign to bring President Hosni Mubarak's regime to an end.

Meanwhile trade unions have called strikes nationwide to ask for higher wages and better working conditions.

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked the entrance to parliamentary buildings in central Cairo, several blocks away from Tahrir Square, until now the focal point of the protests.

Determined protesters are continuing to rally in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square, and other cities across the country. They say they will not end the protests until Mubarak, who has been at the country's helm since 1981, steps down.
Soldiers surrounded the buildings, which have reportedly been evacuated.

Protesters say the Egyptian parliament, which is dominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), is part of the president's regime and therefore must be dissolved.
MORE

I didn't quite realize that Al Jazeera English was broadcasting live on its youtube page. Listening to the latest news right now. I love technology!

Scenes from Egypt's Parliament: Two Nights of Sitting In

MASSACRES OUTSIDE OF CAIRO

Egypt: Away from the Press, Netizens Report a Massacre in Kharga

With all eyes on Tahrir Square, the epicentre for pro-democracy protests now on their 16th day, a tragedy has been unfolding in Kharga, Al Wadi el Gedid, away from the prying eyes of the Press and international observers.

Reports of protests being brutally put down by the security forces using live ammunition and excessive tear gas, and government-paid thugs released from prison to terrorise people and destroy property, are making the rounds online, as information slowly seeps from Kharga, “a large urban centre in the ancient oasis south of Egypt's Western Desert - a repository of monuments of Pharaohic and Christian era.”

Different reports are being circulated on the number of those killed and injured in the two days of clashes - yesterday and today. MORE

Outside Cairo, Egypt protests get nasty
Outside the capital, police attacked protesters, killing at least three.

At least three protesters were killed by security forces in eastern Egypt today, following violent clashes between around 3,000 protesters and a police force. The confrontation took place in the desert town of Wadi al-Jadid, being the first report of major protest marches in the part of the country.

In rural Egypt and in minor towns, police so far has had an iron grip on the situation. Strong police presence and occasional pro-regime mobs going through the streets have so far prevented anti-government protests here. The Wadi al-Jadid protests, turning violent, there could be a sign that the unrest is spreading to rural areas.MORE

JOURNALISM UPDATE

Egypt's Channel 5 broadcast cut as army surrounds HQ

Al-Jazeera back on NileSat (the Egyptian company for Satellites)


RELIGION


Islamists and the Egyptian revolution

The revolution was not just directed against the autocratic, repressive and corrupt Egyptian regime, which relied on an alliance of money, power and corruption. It was also directed against the official religious establishment and its discourse that supports this regime, either directly or indirectly.

The Egyptian revolution has completely reconfigured the religious scene and clarified the public’s position towards religious institutions and discourses in the country. The result has been surprising. No one expected that religious Egyptians are capable of overriding the powers of religious institutions and of challenging religious discourses that they suddenly perceived as part of a corrupt and repressive regime.MORE

Muslims and Christians Protest as One

CAIRO, Feb 9, 2011 (IPS) - Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison: "Muslim, Christian, doesn't matter; We're all in this boat together!"MORE

SULIEMAN THREATENS EGYPTIAN PROTESTERS

Egyptian Vice President Threatens Protesters


Protesters keep up momentum as Mubarak refuses to quit



EGYPT AND THE REST OF THE WORLD


Behind the spin, Egypt gives Tehran Heartburn

Hungry Gazans feed Egyptian troops Apparently the troops are clashing with groups of Bedouin?

Without Egypt, Israel will be left with no friends in Mideast

How Gaza Is Suffering From Unrest in Egypt

Egypt unrest causes fuel shortage in Gaza Strip According to AL Jazeera just a minute ago, the fuel is now flowing again but the Gazans are understandably still worried