Egypt's Minister of Manpower and Immigration Ahmed Hassan al-Borai demanded on Sunday that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) freeze the assets of the disbanded board of the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions.
The demand was included in a letter sent by the minister to CBE governor Farouq al-Oqda, and follows a cabinet decision last week to disband the federation's board and appoint an interim administration.
Borai requested the bank freeze the special accounts belonging to the federation and its sub-unions nationwide. He said the identities of those mandated to supervise the frozen accounts would be declared at a later date.
Borai tasked the federation's caretaker board with resuming the implementation of judicial verdicts that had anulled the elections the boards of member trade unions within the federation.
The interim board will also take stock of cash and real estate belonging to the federation and its affiliate unions.
Borai stressed that the caretaker administration would retain all the powers enjoyed by the disbanded board. He instructed the new board to review earlier reports by the Central Auditing Organization on the federation and affiliate trade unions and to respond accordingly.
In March, several hundred workers, activists and labor professionals launched Egypt’s first independent trade union federation, aiming to break with the official federation, which for over 50 years had been subject to full state control and used by the former regime to garner political support.
During Labor Day celebrations in May, labor protesters demanded the disbanding of the federation's board.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
