veiled4allah: Egyptian engineers call for political reform

Engineers in Egypt are organising a march to the People's Assembly and threatening to go on strike if their demands for reform are not met. Currently, many political activists and trade unionists are cautiously optimistic. They expect a positive response from the government, especially as countries in the region are facing external pressure to liberalise. As such, the activists seem to be trying to strike while the iron is still hot.

The Engineer's Union was put under government supervision and prevented from holding elections since 1995...

...The story goes back to a sweeping victory for candidates from opposition parties, especially the Islamists, at the Union's council elections before the government imposed custody nine years ago.

Consequently, nearly 140,000 engineers of the 320,000 Union members were denied their right to vote.

It is noteworthy that Egyptian trade unions had witnessed remarkable activity since the early 1980s, after the government restricted the formation of political parties by imposing the Emergency Law.

The government then resorted to imposing judicial custody on the doctors, engineers, lawyers and pharmacists' unions when elections brought control over them to the hands of members from the opposition...

...A lot of engineers see that the problems of their Union are part and parcel of wide-scale problems suffered by the country in general, such as the laws restricting freedom.

At a time when the country's political parties are weakened by the various restrictions and interference imposed by the government, professional unions are considered an important place for practicing public work.

Consequently, the Union's liberation from government control is a primary requirement for political reform.