6 February, 2012
It was a two-and-a-half-hour high speed drive on chaotic Egyptian roads to travel from 6th of October City, an industrial zone of Cairo, north to El-Mahalla El-Kubra, a large industrial and agricultural city in the middle of the Nile Delta. It is known for its dominant textile industry and is home to the largest public-sector Egyptian textile company, the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company.
El-Mahalla El-Kubra is also famous for industrial and political struggle. On 6 April 2008, the city held mass demonstrations protesting the election results of President Hosni Mubarak. The citizenry claimed election fraud and demanded better wages. Security forces were ordered to crackdown on the dissidents.
The movement that called for the 25 January 2011 demonstrations adopted the name “6th of April” in reference to these earlier struggles in Mahallah. On 3 February, last week, the city became the venue for another major trade union event, the first Congress of the Independent Union of Workers in Electricity and Energy.
With a membership of 50,000 workers, including both skilled and unskilled workers as well as technicians, the Congress took place after a year of struggle to establish an independent and democratic trade union throughout the country. And democratic it certainly was!
Votes were called for every two or three minutes. Proposals, counter proposals and amendments were shouted from the floor with the Congress appeared to be on the verge of chaos constantly. Over 200 delegates crammed into a room that would have been full with only half that number. They travelled from as far as Alexandria to Aswan, with representatives from the state-owned electric power structures of every governate in Egypt said to be present.
“Long live workers in the Electrical Sector! Long Live their Struggle!” was the cry from both the platform and the floor of the hall. As passionate and loud as the Congress was, it was also good humoured and effective. They debated and agreed on a constitution and statutes.
Subscriptions were set at three Egyptian Pounds a month, with 10% of income to be sent to the union headquarters, the remaining 90% to remain in the hands of local union structures. All members must have access to the services of the union with no discrimination. There was a lengthy debate on worker control of any major projects or investments the union may make in the future, and no wages or special benefits will be paid to union board members. All Congress delegates were to have the right to full access to the accounts of the union at any time.
ICEM Contact Person for the Middle East/North Africa Region, Jim Catterson, attended part of the Congress and spoke at the event. He found the enthusiasm and debate incredible – it really was the birth of a new organisation. The union confirmed its membership of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), which had itself held its first Congress in Cairo only a week earlier.