Monday, July 6, 2009

The Egyptian State's Violations of Trade Union Rights - ITUC Annual Survey

This is a very well conducted annual report on the part of the International Trade Union Confederation, it critiques the Egyptian State's historical and contemporary violations of trade union rights. Praiseworthy as this survey is, it is only a brief summary and thus merely covers the tip of the iceberg of state violations. Mention is not made regarding State Security's intervention in trade union affairs, enforced bargaining techniques, threats, along with physical abuse.

It should be mentioned that over 12,000 candidates were prevented from nominating themselves in the trade union elections of Nov. 2006 (for the ongoing 2006-2011 term) and during the vote-counting process ballot rigging was nearly the norm.

The countless violations of professional syndicates’ rights and the state’s intervention in their affairs warrant a whole separate report. This survey mentions only the “Judicial supervision imposed on many professionals' unions” it doesn’t go into detail about the state’s interventionist mechanisms of “judicial sequestration,” “judicial administration” and “administrative guardianship.”

The violations of professional syndicates’ rights and trade union rights, along with those of the rights of non-unionized workers, across Egypt are so numerous that they could fill the pages of several volumes of fat books.

The ITUC did some very good work here, nonetheless.

Down with the yellow state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation
JC


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(EGYPT) ANNUAL SURVEY OF VIOLATIONS OF TRADE UNION RIGHTS, 2009 - ITUC

International Trade Union Confederation
ITUC Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights

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