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As part of these efforts, UNI sent a solidarity mission to Egypt aiming to identify the challenges and way forward as to how unions and their members will face the future and GROW in the new democratic Egypt.



From 11- 14 April the mission members met with UNI affiliates and the new independent unions, rank and file union members, unorganised workers, as well as wide range of representatives from the Egyptian civil society, including the new Minister of Labour in the interim government and employers.



“We were impressed by the commitment of Dr. Ahmed Hasan El Borae, the new Minister of Labour, who confirmed the need to reform the labour law, ensure freedom of association and collective bargaining, a minimum wage and social dialogue and agreed to work together to make it happen,” said Mongi Abderrahim, UGTT, Tunisia, who took part in the mission.



Important meetings were also held with the long-term partners of UNI Global Union like ILO’s Cairo office and with the Friedrich Ebert Stieftung (FES) to discuss the common and concerted approach of international trade union solidarity programmes towards strengthening the Egyptian labour market as part of the restructuring of the Egyptian economy.



A great encounter was experienced by the UNI Mission as they stumbled into a strike at one of the offices of Orascom the national mobile services provider. Even though the Army Council had banned strikes the previous Friday, this group of employees stood in the street to protest against poor working conditions, low salaries and long working hours. They were not members of a union, had no common spokesperson but were yet united in their struggle to achieve better working conditions. Mission members supported the strikers and gave them contact information to the unions so that in the future the employees might be even better organised.



A full report and recommendations on the key elements of UNI strategy will be provided first to UNI management committee next month.