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URGENT STATEMENT
THE TRADE UNION ELECTIONS BEING COUNTERFEITED
In a sudden development adopting the shock technique, the Minister of Manpower - in the absence of the president of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) and ETUF's representatives - announced yesterday (Monday) 2nd October 2006 that the first stage of the trade union elections for the 2006 – 2011 term will take place on 12/12/2006. Such an announcement is an unprecedented sudden action. The first stage of the elections (i.e. the trade union committees or plant unions) has never been held in one day because there are more than 15000 trade union committees. In the last term for example, the elections of this stage took place during the period from 8 to 22 October, 2001.
The Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) considers this sudden announcement a flagrant manifestation of the domination of the Ministry of Manpower over all the procedures of the trade union elections (i.e. nomination, voting, vote count and result announcement). It is a step that contravenes all the international conventions and charters which stipulate the freedom of elections.
The CTUWS is of the opinion that such a decision was taken to cut off the road before all the people calling for judicial supervision over the trade union elections. The decision lays heavy difficulties before the civic society organizations which announced their intention to monitor the trade union elections.
The CTUWS calls upon all the democratic powers and the civic society organizations to consolidate their efforts to stop the interventions of the Ministry of Manpower in the trade union elections so that the workers can elect their representatives by fair elections.
CTUWS General Coordinator - Kamal Abbas
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