The event I attended was a panel style discussion in regards to the role of labor unions in the Arab Spring. It was structured with pre-determined questions for three panelists representing Bahrain, Egypt, and Algeria. All three panelists conveyed a similar message: the only hope for the uprisings lies in the cooperation and unity of the people and workers through institutions such as labor unions, and that the revolution in each respective country is far from over as seen in the less than satisfactory conditions of unemployment and the economy post-regime.
Karim Radhi, a General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions representative focused on the progress made so far by the labor unions of Bahrain (they were in DC receiving an award from the UFLCIO for their work toward human rights). He pointed out that a key part of the uprising was the push to achieve the freedom of assembly and protest, and he highlighted how integral a united organization of workers has been toward achieving this aim. However, he articulated that while they have been working hard to accomplish said goals, people in Bahrain continue to be fired because of affiliation with labor unions. Social networking has backfired and been used in what Mr. Radhi describes as a “McCarthy-esque” period of oppression in order to spy on the Bahrain population and keep labor unions relatively inactive.
Kamal Abou Aita, a representative from Egypt’s Trade Union and Worker Services passionately described the conditions in Egypt being worse for workers in now than during the Mubarak regime. He spoke of the “hunger revolution” and the motto of the labor unions protests of poor economic conditions being “bread, freedom, social justice, and human dignity”. Unfortunately, due to tighter restrictions on trade unions, organizing for better wages, decreased unemployment, and more freedom for the unions has been largely unsuccessful. Mr. Aita enforced however, that the revolution will continue beyond just toppling the Mubarak regime until the union demands are met.
Nassira Ghoziane of Algeria spoke about the promising programs set in place by the labor unions of Algeria despite government oppression and years of false promises for reform. Free trade and labor unions have extended their mission in Algeria beyond just wages and economic reform to providing services to college graduates who are unemployed (a common theme throughout the highly educated Arab world). The goal is to train the students to find jobs that fit their area of study, as well as helping current students construct their education in a way that will enable them to find jobs upon graduation.
As previously stated, despite the incredibly promising unity and persistence of labor unions in many Arab countries during a time of wide scale transition, “the revolution is far from over”. The idea behind the uprisings were not a mere overthrow of dictatorial regimes, but rather to accomplish a higher quality of life for the people living in these Arab nations. Though the Western media may not focus on this struggle as much as they did the actual uprisings of Arab Spring, the fight for equality and worker’s rights continues.
Julia, thanks for your post on this talk! I wanted to do a blog post on it as well, but didn't really have notes that were coherent enough to make it work. But anyways, I wanted to pose a question for consideration. As this talk focused on the work of labor unions, and was headed by labor union representatives, it is natural that some bias would come through on the behalf of labor unions. As you mentioned in your post, all three representatives emphasized the great influence that their respective organizations made on the revolutionary aspect of the Arab Spring, and also now during the rebuilding phase. However, the most prominent aspect of these revolutions was that they were grassroots movements made for the people and by the people, and, as realists would view it, where all the power was. Do you think that institutions have 1) the right to claim credit for the advances that have been made and 2) the power to actually be able to make a difference, as liberals would likely argue.
ReplyDeleteVictor, thank you for your comment! From what I can conclude in regards to the actual impact of the labor unions in Arab Spring, they had little impact in Egypt and Bahrain during the actual uprising. You are right in your statement that these were grassroots movements (probably the most pure form of a popular uprising with no definitive organization base) that we've seen in the past decade. And while the labor unions are under tighter restrictions now than ever, I believe that if Egypt and Bahrain can complete the transition to democracy without conservative Islamist interests interfering with reform, then these labor unions will have existed for long enough to provide workers with a stable and legitimate platform to express their concerns. However, for now they are just one of many voices in the crowd of Arab Spring.
DeleteHi Julia, this seems like it was a great event. I have a couple of questions about what you wrote. First, from a liberal's point of view, institutions such as the labor unions in Bahrain are critical to provide for win-win situtions among opposing parties. However, when one party is unwilling to cooperate (such as businesses in Bahrain), then how can the institution remain effective?
ReplyDeleteSecondly, why is it that conditions for labor unions in Egypt are harsher today than they were when Mubarak was president?
Hello Anwen, thanks for the comment! Great questions.
DeleteFirst, you are very right in questioning the effectiveness of the institution when cooperation is not multi-lateral. With the uncertain state of the new governments in these Arab countries, it is not yet a win-win for both parties to enter into agreement because the market is so entrenched in corruption that the businesses were not constructed in a way that can respond well to unions. They have neither a stable enough foundation or diversified enough profit opportunities to be flexible enough to meet the demands of workers, especially during a time when the economy of Bahrain, Egypt, and other nations are so weak.
Second, the conditions for labor unions in Egypt (as well as censorship, etc) are stricter now than during the Mubarak regime because Mubarak had a safety net of privatization so that the unions as well as the criticism of the people did not affect his grip on power. Him and his cronies owned enough of the economy and the unemployment was high enough in Egypt to prevent unions from having any leverage. Also, Egypt operated under emergency law (they could detain anyone for any reason and try them in military court) so the idea of voicing any complaints against business owners (mainly Mubarak cronies) was not worth the risk of being arrested and tried.
I hope I answered what you were asking! Thanks.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think the subject of this panel is extremely interesting. I never even thought about groups like labor unions and their role in the Arab Spring. As someone who did not attend this event, I have a few questions. It sounds like most of the representatives portrayed that the labor unions were staying strong even in the face of adversity, but are their any specific examples that shows this strength? Or even specific examples or statistics that show that labor unions are losing their battle, which would show that perhaps this panel was biased as Victor pointed out. I wonder if bringing in more outside research would help analyze what the panelists had to say on the issue and put it all in context. Thanks for writing about such an interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteHi Madison, thanks for your comment. I apologize if I did not provide enough context, I was writing under the false assumption that the facts about the struggle of the labor unions was already known which was my mistake.
DeleteThe representatives did portray their unions as strong in the face of adversity, but to be honest, there is very little evidence of this strength, or even their definitive presence during the uprisings.
The facts in regard to how much they are struggling:
In both Egypt and Bahrain, unemployment is higher now than before the uprisings. Because of this, labor unions have very little leverage in regards to demanding better conditions and higher wages, because their is very little flow of money into the countries to begin with (foreign investors pulled out in the wake of the uprising, Egyptian businesses are being tried left and right for corruption and ties to the old regime). If you'd like to read my other post, that provides more context in regards to the economic conditions in Egypt. Essentially, the unions are struggling and have achieved very little since the uprisings because economies are at a standstill and unemployment is incredibly high, so economic reform and growth is the first step before any demands can be taken into consideration.