The Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) and trade unions in several governorates staged a protest in front of the union headquarters on Galaa Street on Monday against the nomination of Kamal abu Eita, president of the independent union of Real Estate Tax Authority, as minister of manpower.
Workers at the protest reject the nomination, demanding that the minister be a member of a trade union so that he may be aware of the problems of Egypt's 25 million workers, including five million members of trade unions.
Workers called on interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawy to reconsider his nomination and coordinate with the ETUF to select the minister. Beblawy met on Sunday with abu Eita.
Some protesters tried to block traffic but their leaders assured that their protest would be peaceful and that workers were keen not to damage public property.
Others called for staging a march to the cabinet to express their anger at not being made a part of the nomination process.
Abu Eita is a defender of workers’ rights. He was imprisoned under Mubarak’s rule and was one of many who incited a revolution against Mubarak’s regime. Indeed, he was known for his political slogans.
He took part in the 25 January revolution and gathered workers at Tahrir Square to participate in the second revolution against ousted President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Abu Eita founded the independent union in January 2011 to voice workers’ demands of fair wages and medical treatment.
Edited translation from MENA
