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May 2, 2011

Egypt Celebrates International Workers’ Day For First Time Since 1952 
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In Egypt, thousands of workers and activists poured into Cairo's Tahrir
Square Sunday for the country's first independent celebration of
International Workers' Day since 1952. People in the square celebrated
the formation of labor unions independent of state control and the newly
created Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions. A group of labor
leaders and activists also announced the formation of a new political
party called the Democratic Labor Party. Party member and journalist
Hossam El Hamalawy laid out some of its main demands.

Hossam El-Hamalawy, Journalist and Activist: “A big demand is
definitely the re-nationalization of all of the privatized factories. A
complete halt to the neo-liberal program. The complete freedom must be
given to the Egyptian working class to establish its independent unions.
I mean the workers in some sectors are still facing the old managers who
are trying to sabotage their attempts to establish independent unions.
And the national minimum wage. We have fought so long to raise our
national minimum wage to at least 1,200 Egyptian pounds a month. I would
like to see those demands achieved as soon as possible.”



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