Wahlen angezweifelt - strafversetzt...

Bei den Gewerkschaftswahlen in Ägypten gab es zahlreiche "Unregelmässigkeiten". Was einem passieren kann, der zu den - ebenfalls vielen - gehört, die dies anprangerten, erlebt der Gewerkschaftsfunktionär Mohamed Abu Samra bei der Alexandria Seaport Authority. Dazu der (englische) Bericht und Solidaritätsaufruf "Repercussions of the Trade Union Elections Arbitrary Transfer Decision of the Board Chairman of Alexandria Seaport Authority Against the Trade Union Leader Mohamed Abu Samra" des CTUWS von Anfang Dezember 2006.

Repercussions of the Trade Union Elections

Arbitrary Transfer Decision of the Board Chairman of Alexandria Seaport Authority Against the Trade Union Leader Mohamed Abu Samra

In a sudden development of the events in the Seaport Authority of Alexandria which witnesses many violations during the recent trade union elections … the series of punishment against the trade union leader Mr. Mohamed Abu Samra escalated seriously by transferring him arbitrarily to Al Ameriya District as from Monday 4 December 2006.

Mr. Mohamed Aly Aly Abu Samra was a member of the Trade Union Committee of the Seaport Authority of Alexandria and a Board Member of the General Trade Union of Sea Transport in the last trade union term. But he was deprived the right to stand for the last elections by a decision of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) to expel him from trade union membership less than one month before the date of the new elections. Nevertheless, he succeeded to obtain a court judgment to register his name in the lists of candidates. Elections in the Seaport Authority of Alexandria were suspended until the enforcement of the court judgment. When the Ministry of Manpower and the ETUF refused to implement the court judgment, Mr. Abu Samra and the workers of the Seaport Authority of Alexandria called to suspend the elections. They gathered before the election committees in the morning of the elections day (13 November) for this purpose, but they could not stop the process.

It is worthy noting that the Elections Monitoring Reports referred to the direct intervention of the Brigadier General Board Chairman of the Seaport Authority of Alexandria in the trade union elections. He followed up the nominations process in order to decide the accepted candidates and the refused ones. The decision to transfer Mr. Abu Samra to a different location must be a continuation of the series of violations against the candidates, the trade unionists and the workers of the Authority.

This arbitrary decision reminds us of the circumstances in 1977 which contained widespread violence campaigns against trade union and labour leaders after the events of January 1977. Many of them were transferred to remote places or to non productive or administrative units.

The decision to transfer Mr. Abu Samra is a witness of this unfair and biased treatment of the management of the Seaport Authority of Alexandria. It is an unjustified decision. Moreover, the decision which was issued by the Personnel Committee whose report was approved on 30/11/2006 (which approved the decision before it was announced) stated that Mr. Abu Samra will be transferred to any of the Local Government Units in the Governorate of Alexandria. Even the name of the Unit was not defined. This means that the decision is aimed to oust Mr. Abu Samra from the Seaport Authority of Alexandria not only to transfer him !!! In addition, the new Unit does not have a post from the financial degree of Mr. Abu Samra and insisted that he must be transferred with his financial degree. So the decision was issued to transfer him and at the same time to second him from the Seaport Authority of Alexandria to Al Amiriya District Local Council until this issue is settled provided that another final transfer decision will be issued later on.

Is there any clearer evidence of the flagrant violation of the workers rights. It is a threat to any worker who may think of getting involved in trade union work.

The CTUWS while expressing its condemnation to the series of violations of trade union rights in the Seaport Authority of Alexandria expresses its solidarity with Mohamed Abu Samra, calls for the cancellation of the decision to transfer him arbitrarily. The CTUWS calls for restoring Mr. Abu Samra's trade union membership and conducting new trade union elections in the Seaport Authority of Alexandria. At the same time, the CTUWS calls upon you to express solidarity with Mr. Mohamed Abu Samra in defence of his trade union democratic rights and his labour rights.

Please send your solidarity messages to:
The Seaport Authority of Alexandria Fax: ++ 2 (03) 4869714
The Ministry of Manpower Fax: ++ 2 (02) 3035332
The Egyptian Trade Union Federation Fax: ++ 2 (02) 5740324
The Cabinet of Ministers Fax: ++ 2 (02) 7958048

THE CENTER FOR TRADE UNION AND WORKRS SERVICES “CTUWS”