•  cairo
• Wednesday, April 06, 2011
• Inter Press Service

The state-controlled trade union federation that for over half a century was employed by Egyptian rulers to suppress workers' protests and mobilise voters for sham elections appears to be crumbling with the recent ouster of president Hosni Mubarak.

'There is a movement against state control of unions,' says Mohamed Trabelsi, a regional specialist on union activities at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). 'You now have many strikes and labour protests in Egypt, and workers in many sectors have started to organise and form free and independent unions.'

Until recently, all labour union activities and finance in Egypt fell under the umbrella of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF). Membership in the state-controlled body was mandatory for most public sector employees, and union dues were automatically deducted from their salaries.

Labour activists charge that Mubarak carefully orchestrated the federation's elections during his 30-year rule to ensure that union heads were loyal to the regime. ETUF in turn mobilised its four million members for pro-government rallies and bussed workers to polling stations during general elections to vote for the ruling party. It also suppressed strikes to ensure the state had a steady supply of cheap labour.

'Strikes were only allowed with ETUF permission, which was granted only once,' explains Tamer Fathy, a spokesman for the Centre for Trade Union and Workers' Services (CTUWS). 'The 2003 labour law improved things by allowing workers to strike under certain circumstances, but in practice (the criteria was) nearly impossible to fulfil.'

Cracks had appeared in ETUF's authority even while Mubarak was in power. Now that he is gone, and his ruling party in tatters, angry workers are pressing to have the federation dissolved and its union heads held accountable.

Prosecutors are also investigating corruption allegations against ETUF president Hussein Megawer. Activists accuse him of misappropriating funds and misrepresenting workers. He is also under separate investigation for his alleged role in organising thugs to attack pro-democracy protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Feb. 2.

The official trade union federation's power has been on the wane since late 2006, when textile workers in the northern industrial town of Mahalla El-Kubra held a factory sit-in to protest unpaid bonuses. Since then, more than 3,000 labour protests have been organised across Egypt, involving over two million workers in nearly every sector.

In most instances, striking workers have demanded higher wages and better working conditions, as well as the removal of corrupt company managers.

Many workers also accuse ETUF union heads -- most of whom are high ranking members of Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) -- of siding with the government and factory owners against them during labour protests, and have called for their impeachment. Their dissatisfaction with the state-backed federation prompted demands for independent unions that are accountable to their members.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service