Middle East & North Africa Observatory

North Cairo may face power outages as workers strike

ITUC — 2013-05-19T20:13:06Z

Workers at a state-owned electricity company are holding a sit-in to demand the release of 17 detained colleagues Operations at Egypt's North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company (NCEDC) have been on hold for the fifth day in row due to a sit-in by workers demanding the release of 17 of their colleagues who are currently under arrest. The workers are threatening to escalate their protest by cutting off electricity to districts of Cairo supplied by the state-run company, protesting (...) - 2. News / Egypt

Tunisia: Time Has Come to Reach Consensus to Create Glossary of Democratic Transition - UGTT Secretary General

ITUC — 2013-05-18T14:02:09Z

Tunis — "Time has come to reach consensus between political players, the civil society and all active forces so as to create a glossary of democratic transition in Tunisia," Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) Secretary-General Hassine Abassi highlighted at the opening on Thursday in Tunis, of the second round of the National Dialogue. This glossary, he added, must take stock of the political, socio-economic and cultural state of affairs in the country, draw up an inventory of natural, (...) - 2. News / Tunisia

Court case against Iraqi oil union leader: hunt the evidence…

ITUC — 2013-05-17T19:38:08Z

Over a month ago, I wrote about the court case being taken against the leader of Iraqi's oil workers at the South Oil Company (SOC). Hassan Juma'a was due to be tried for organising a strike, using a Saddam-era law. The charge itself is offensive, as the strike he is being accused of calling should be entirely legal. It is further evidence that Iraq is still way out of compliance with ILO labour standards. But now the situation is getting farcical, with trial date after trial date coming and (...) - 2. News / Iraq

Workers clash with Petrojet company security

ITUC — 2013-05-16T20:45:22Z

Workers demanding to be reinstated in the Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations (Petrojet) company projects clashed with company security on Wednesday. At the time of writing, five workers had entered a company building to hold negotiations with company administration. The rest of the workers were camping out outside the company, waiting to see what the negotiations will lead to. According to Dalia Moussa, Workers Coordinator at the Egyptian Centre for Social and Economic Rights, (...) - 2. News / Egypt

Contractors indicted on human trafficking charges

ITUC — 2013-05-15T10:05:36Z

AMMAN — Owners of a construction company were last week indicted on charges of human trafficking as South Amman Prosecutor General Ahmad Rawahneh wrapped up a month-probe into the “illegal practices” of the firm, the official and an advocate group said. Rawahneh launched the investigation in April when the NGO, the Observatory for Consultation and Training (Daem), was approached by a large group of Egyptian workers claiming that their employer was not paying them and that they were provided (...) - 2. News / Jordan

Electricity company workers on strike

ITUC — 2013-05-13T17:40:57Z

Workers from electricity companies from around the country went on strike on Sunday at the Cabinet. Workers Media Coordinator at the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) Dalia Moussa said that the workers have been treated unequally and have complained of increasing corruption in the Ministry of Electricity and Energy. “Those who work in the holding company have more privileges than those who work in the subsidy companies,” Moussa said. She said that school grants for (...) - 2. News / Egypt

Tunisair Strike Delayed Until May 24

ITUC — 2013-05-12T13:52:22Z

Tunisair Strike Delayed Until May 24. Today's strike of Tunisair ground crew has been rescheduled for May 24, according to a press release issued by the Office of Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki. During a reconciliation session that took place yesterday in the government palace, the Prime Ministry agreed to foster negotiations between Tunisair and the union in order to implement previously ratified agreements. “Tunisair ground crew's demands mainly revolve around social demands,” Soulafa (...) - 2. News / Tunisia

Kuwait hurt by expat deportations, says union

ITUC — 2013-05-11T20:20:07Z

The Kuwait government's decision to deport 100,000 expatriate workers per year has led to soaring recruitment costs and increases in visa trafficking, according to a labour union. In March this year the country's labour minister said Thekra Al-Rasheedi said that the Gulf state would seek to deport 1m overseas residents between now and 2023 in order to readdress Kuwait's demographic balance. Approximately 2.6m of the Gulf state's total 3.8m population are non-Kuwaiti. The plan has been (...) - 2. News / Kuwait

Egyptian workers raise their free voices

ITUC — 2013-05-10T12:40:54Z

IndustriALL Global Union continues to give support to the free, independent and democratic trade union movement in Egypt through a special education and training program supported by AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center via the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). A first ever two-day planning and assesment seminar was held at the end of April in Cairo with participation of around fifty participants from different sectors within the jurisdiction of IndustriALL. The seminar welcomed (...) - 2. News / Egypt

Political Parties Agree on Right to Strike

ITUC — 2013-05-09T19:52:08Z

Political parties reached a consensus yesterday regarding the right to strike as a high-level national dialogue process resumed in Carthage. They agreed to remove restrictions on the right of workers to strike that had been outlined in the draft constitution, Mouldi Riahi of Ettakatol, one of the ruling Troika parties, told state news agency TAP. Previously, the draft demanded that, even during strikes, public equipment and supplies must be protected and essential utilities must continue (...) - 2. News / Tunisia