2008 Egyptian general strike
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Egyptian general strike was a strike
which occurred on 6 April 2008, by Egypt
ian workers, primarily in the state-run textile industry, in response to low wages and rising food costs. Strikes are illegal in Egypt and authorities have been given orders to break demonstrations forcefully in the past. The strike took place just two days before key municipal elections
.
, blogs, SMS, independent media and word-of-mouth, activists and workers in Egypt sought to organize strikes, protests and demonstrations throughout the country on April 6. Calling it the "Egyptian Intifida," supporters called for civil disobedience, asking everyone to stay home from work and avoid making purchases. The strike began as an initiative of the workers of El-Mahalla El-Kubra
but was picked up, promoted and expanded by activists using the Internet and cell phones. April 6 Youth Movement
, a group on the social networking site Facebook, attracted more than 64,000 members. Although the banned Islamist organization the Muslim Brotherhood
did not officially support the strike, it did not prevent its members from participating, and several Muslim Brotherhood activists and bloggers supported the strike.. The night before, Malek an Egyptian blogger, and three activists from the Islamic Labour Party
were arrested for posting fliers about the strike.
The text of the call for strike read:
coordinator Mohamed el-Ashqar, Freedom Commission Rapporteur of the Labor Party Mohamed Abdel Kodous, prominent activist and Kifaya member Magdy Qarqar, and blogger Sharkawy (who was sodomized and tortured by Egyptian police in 2006), and others.
Official media channels controlled by the Egyptian government discouraged citizens from participating in the strike, and law enforcement officials warned that protesters could be punished with three months to one year in jail. Thousands of police lined the streets in downtown Cairo
near the universities and in Mahalla in attempt to initimidate people and prevent them from participating. There were no protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square (most likely due to strong police presence; at least some protesters were chased from the square by police), though students at Ain Shams, Helwan and Cairo universities held demonstrations. Many people did stay home in solidarity with the protesters and out of fear of possible violence, with the streets of Cairo noticeably quiet and more stores than usual shuttered for the day.
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
which occurred on 6 April 2008, by Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian workers, primarily in the state-run textile industry, in response to low wages and rising food costs. Strikes are illegal in Egypt and authorities have been given orders to break demonstrations forcefully in the past. The strike took place just two days before key municipal elections
Egyptian municipal elections, 2008
The 2008 Egyptian municipal elections were local elections held across Egypt on 8 April 2008.-Run up to elections:In the run up to the elections, Human Rights Watch alleged mass round-ups of 800 opposition Muslim Brotherhood candidates and would-be electoral candidates...
.
Lead-up
Using FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, blogs, SMS, independent media and word-of-mouth, activists and workers in Egypt sought to organize strikes, protests and demonstrations throughout the country on April 6. Calling it the "Egyptian Intifida," supporters called for civil disobedience, asking everyone to stay home from work and avoid making purchases. The strike began as an initiative of the workers of El-Mahalla El-Kubra
El-Mahalla El-Kubra
El-Mahalla El-Kubra is a large industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle of the Nile Delta on the western bank of the Damietta branch. It is known for its dominant textile industry...
but was picked up, promoted and expanded by activists using the Internet and cell phones. April 6 Youth Movement
April 6 Youth Movement
The April 6 Youth Movement is an Egyptian Facebook group started in Spring 2008 to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to strike on April 6....
, a group on the social networking site Facebook, attracted more than 64,000 members. Although the banned Islamist organization the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
did not officially support the strike, it did not prevent its members from participating, and several Muslim Brotherhood activists and bloggers supported the strike.. The night before, Malek an Egyptian blogger, and three activists from the Islamic Labour Party
Islamic Labour Party
Islamic Labor Party to create. Target home workers to fill the vacuum caused by the dissolution of unions and restricted movement within the labor system was acceptable....
were arrested for posting fliers about the strike.
The text of the call for strike read:
All national forces in Egypt have agreed upon the 6th of April to be a public strike. On the 6th of April, stay home, do not go out; Don’t go to work, don’t go to the university, don’t go to school, don’t open your shop, don’t open your pharmacy, don’t go to the police station, don’t go to the camp; We need salaries allowing us to live, we need to work, we want our children to get education, we need human transportation means, we want hospitals to get treatment, we want medicines for our children, we need just judiciary, we want security, we want freedom and dignity, we want apartments for youth; We don’t want price increases, we don’t want favouritism, we don’t want police in plain clothes, we don’t want torture in police stations, we don’t want corruption, we don’t want bribes, we don’t want detentions. Tell your friends not to go to work and ask them to join the strike.
April 6: day of the strike
The strike at Mahalla was to have begun at 7 a.m. but plain clothes security personnel and police infiltrated the factory and allegedly intimidated workers from striking. Hundreds of plainclothes security men took control of the Mahalla textile factories before work began, seizing workers and forcing them to work. At the end of the day, police escorts led small groups of workers out of the factories in an attempt to discourage mass protests. This led some in the press to call the strike a failure and many left the region (about an hour outside Cairo) before any violence started.. Two people, including a 15-year-old-boy, were killed by Egyptian police, who used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition against the striking workers and other protesters.. Several leaders of opposition parties have been detained, including the KifayaKifaya
Kefaya is the unofficial moniker of the Egyptian Movement for Change , a grassroots coalition which prior to the 2011 revolution drew its support from across Egypt’s political spectrum...
coordinator Mohamed el-Ashqar, Freedom Commission Rapporteur of the Labor Party Mohamed Abdel Kodous, prominent activist and Kifaya member Magdy Qarqar, and blogger Sharkawy (who was sodomized and tortured by Egyptian police in 2006), and others.
Official media channels controlled by the Egyptian government discouraged citizens from participating in the strike, and law enforcement officials warned that protesters could be punished with three months to one year in jail. Thousands of police lined the streets in downtown Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
near the universities and in Mahalla in attempt to initimidate people and prevent them from participating. There were no protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square (most likely due to strong police presence; at least some protesters were chased from the square by police), though students at Ain Shams, Helwan and Cairo universities held demonstrations. Many people did stay home in solidarity with the protesters and out of fear of possible violence, with the streets of Cairo noticeably quiet and more stores than usual shuttered for the day.