| Full name | Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Members | unknown - formed out of existing independent Trade Unions |
| Country | Egypt |
| Affiliation | ITUC |
| Office location | Egypt |
Contents |
On 30 January 2011, as part of the 2011 Egyptian protests, a meeting convened in Tahrir square led to the formation of the Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions in response to the effective state control of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation.[1][2]
The founding declaration of the Constitutional Body was issued in the name of the following organisations,[3] as well as various workers’ independent groups in industries:
The new federation has been referred to by a number of English names since its inception. This is probably due to the translation from Arabic.
The different names by which the federation is known include:
The first acts of the new federation were to call for a general strike in support of the opposition movement's demands for change, and to publish a list of demands for wage reform, welfare reform, workers rights and the release of opposition detainees. These demands received support from a number of Labour organisations internationally, including the International Trade Union Confederation[7] and the British Trades Union Congress Touchstone Blogger, Owen Tudor[4]. In July 2011, the federation called for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and the expulsion of Histadrut from the ITUC, [2] which won the backing of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).[8]