I received the following statement from iron and steel mills workers in Helwan… Click below to enlarge a scanned copy…

The statement, signed by the “Workers’ Consciousness Committee in the Steel Mills,” slammed the labor union bureaucracy, blaming the latter for failing to push for the implementation of the ministerial decrees, announced by Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif in 2006 and 2007 related to the bonuses and allowances. The statement warned this will result in a “wave of strikes in all Helwan companies. The minister hasn’t announced he revoked his decrees, still the management officials in the companies are objecting (to implement the decrees), and the unions are complicit…

“We demand a public meeting, attended by the head of the union in the company Salah Heikal, who attended already a similar meeting in the Light Transportation Company, but refuses to do the same in the Iron and Steel (Mills).

The Statement concluded by addressing the Factory Union Committee officials: “We call up on you today to implement the decree immediately, and stand on the side of workers. Tomorrow, there will not be anytime for more calls. The steel mills workers, just like the Mahalla workers, have the ability to achieve their demands without you.”