As Egypt's Mubarak Comes to Washington, Labor Unrest Surges at Home

[TIME] Abigail Hauslohner - In the Egyptian Delta city of Mahalla, tens of thousands of striking textile workers have won their demands on multiple occasions over the past three years. Egypt has seen at least 250 strike actions this year alone, organized locally and often featuring women workers playing a leading role. "They were chanting against Hosni Mubarak, against Suzanne Mubarak, they were chanting against Gamal Mubarak. Outright chants," says Hossam al-Hamalawy, a journalist and labor activist, of recent strikes in the Delta. "They had 20,000 people marching for an hour in the city of Mahalla demanding that Mubarak will be overthrown."


2009-08-19 06:00:00

Full Article

BACK

Visit the Daily Alert Archive