Mada Masr
August 2, 2016
Jano Charbel
More than 500 individuals and civil
society groups signed petitions in solidarity with 26 civilian workers
from Alexandria Shipyard Company who are currently standing trial before
a military court.
The case has been ongoing since June
18. The workers, half of whom are being tried in absentia, face charges
of instigating strikes and obstructing operations at the company. They
deny the charges, claiming they weren’t involved in any strike action
but staged a sit-in that did not halt production.
Military
prosecutors have charged the workers with violating Article 124 of
Egypt’s Penal Code, which stipulates penalties of three months to one
year imprisonment and/or fines of up to LE500 for civil servants who
deliberately refrain from performing their duties at work.
A verdict in the ongoing case was due to be issued on August 2, but was postponed to August 16.
During
the sit-in, staged on May 22 and 23, workers demanded the payment of
the national minimum wage (LE1,200 per month), overdue profit-shares,
annual Ramadan bonuses, health insurance coverage and the dismissal of
the company’s chief administrator, as well as the re-operation of the
shipyard’s stalled production lines.
Despite the
non-violent nature of their sit-in, military police were deployed to the
Shipyard Company, where security forces have prevented nearly 2,500
shipyard workers from entering the premises since May 24, bringing
almost all production to a halt.
Military conscripts
were deployed to temporarily replace some of the civilian workers at the
company, according to lawyer Mohamed Awad, who added that the lockdown
is still being enforced despite promises the company would be
operational again by August 1.
The company’s nearly
2,500 excluded workers, who are not on trial, have been paid their basic
wages, but not the bonuses that usually supplement their incomes, as
they didn’t work during the 70-day lockdown, according to Awad. These
wages amount to less than the minimum wage.
One online
petition, signed by over 330 individuals, calls on Egyptian authorities
to end the use of military trials to punish civilian workers for
standing up for their rights. The petition adds that Alexandria Military
Court should “immediately halt this illegal persecution.”
Another
email-based petition, circulated by labor activists, was signed by over
200 people and endorsed by 13 political groups.
The petition cites
Article 204 of Egypt’s 2014 Constitution, which stipulates, “Civilians
shall not stand trial before military courts except for crimes that
constitute a direct assault on military institutions, the Armed Forces,
its camps or any other body under its jurisdiction… including military
factories.”
The 13 groups who signed the petition
include: The Bread and Freedom Party, the Karama Party, the Strong Egypt
Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the National Partnership
Current, the Popular Current, the Liberties Committee of the Journalists
Syndicate, the Revolutionary Socialists, Youth for Justice and Freedom,
the April 6 Youth Movement’s Democratic Front, Toward a Just Labor Law
campaign, Workers' Struggle Current, and the Independent General Union
for Tourism Workers.
“Neither workers nor other
civilians should stand trial before military courts, or any other form
of exceptional courts,” the petition stated.
These
petitions were preceded by a solidarity conference in Cairo on June 27,
titled: Against Military Trials of Workers, which demanded that all
charges be dropped and the case be referred to a civilian court.
Some
parliamentarians also issued their own statements criticizing the
trial, the latest in a number of military trials against civilian
workers.
“Egypt is a state, not a military barracks,”
Member of Parliament Haitham al-Hariry says, asserting that the trial
“aims to intimidate and threaten workers,” and “Civilians should not
stand trial before military courts, even if they are working under
military administration.”
Officials from the
state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) have, however,
issued statements supporting the military trial.
ETUF
Vice President, Magdy al-Badawy told media outlets in late July that the
trial of civilian workers before a military court is regular procedure.
Badawy added that, since the company is administered by the Defense
Ministry, its workers should be subject to the provisions of military
laws.
Alexandria Shipyard Company was established as a
state-owned enterprise in the 1960s, and has been owned and operated by
Egypt’s Defense Ministry since 2007.
At least 18,000
civilians have stood trial before military tribunals since the popular
uprising of January 25, 2011, according to rights activists.
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