As industrial action spreads in Egypt, labor activists who played a leading role in strikes at their factories are being victimized. One of them is Mohamed el-Attar, a 36-year old worker at Ghazl el-Mahalla and a father of three.
Last December, Attar–who’s been working at the company for ten years, earning US$75 a month–led together with with his colleagues one of the biggest and most successful strikes in Egypt’s modern history, in the fight for improving work conditions. Attar was also among the central figures in the movement to impeach the corrupt, state-sponsored local union officials.
Now, he has fallen victim to a witch hunt campaign. Acting at the behest of State Security Police, the company management issued a decree on May 6, whereby Attar is to be transferred to the company’s branch in Alexandria.
On Sunday, Attar said he was told to “sort out my problems, by speaking to the State Security officers, but I refused to. I will not negotiate with the security. This is an unfair decree, to punish me for standing up for my rights and the rights of my colleagues.”

[Above: Ghazl el-Mahalla labor activist Mohamed el-Attar. Photo by Hossam el-Hamalawy, taken on 9 March, 2007.]

PLEASE SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH MOHAMED EL-ATTAR AND EGYPT’S LABOR ACTIVISTS.
If you are a trade unionist, a member of a syndicate, student union, political party, NGO, or a human rights organization, please try to get your union or organization to issue a solidarity statement with Attar, calling for the revoke of the transfer decree, his reinstatement back in his position in Mahalla, and send it to the following Egyptian ministries:

Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif
Address: Magles El Shaab St., Kasr El Aini St.Cairo
Fax: +(202) 7356449 - 7958016
E-mail: primemin@idsc.gov.eg
Minister of Manpower and Migration: Aisha Abdel Hadi
Fax: +202 2609891
Email: manpower@mome.gov.eg
Minister of Investment: Dr. Mahmoud Mohieedin
Fax: +202 4055635
Email: ministermeeting@investment.gov.eg

Fore more background on the life of Attar and the struggle of Egypt’s textile workers, click on the Ghazl el-Mahalla December strike photo below…

[Above: 27,000 textile workers on strike in Ghazl el-Mahalla. Photo by Nasser Nouri, December 2007.]