141. Independent Trade Unions: Between Political Developments and Internal Factors - Egyptian Case Study 2004-2015
- Author:
- Shimaa El Sharkawy and Mohamed El Agati
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Egypt has had a long history of trade union action and labour movements, even long before the January 2011 Revolution. It dates back to several periods during the 19th and early 20th centuries and is marked by mass and diverse union movements, despite various attempts by the State to quell it. However, the movement at times did indeed succumb to the wide control of the State through an institutional framework. As such, the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) was founded in 1957 and was followed by long and significant periods of struggle.1 It is also important to note that the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services (CTUWS) was founded in 1990 by labour leaders who strongly believed in the independence of trade unions. These leaders were born out of the Egyptian Labour Movement, which prospered in the late 1980s outside of the official trade union structure, following the 1986 railway workers strike, and the 1989 iron and steelworkers strike.2 This paper aims to highlight the internal problems that face independent trade unions. It is primarily referring to the trade unions independent from the state-controlled ETUF and explores their activity from 2004 up until 2015. This contemporary period also includes major milestones that have affected independent unions in the Arab world’s most populous country.
- Topic:
- Politics, Labor Issues, Trade Unions, and Labor Unions
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Egypt