ITUC Day of Action on Egypt: Speech by Kay Carberry at the London Egyptian embassy

TUC Day of Action on Egypt: Speech by Kay Carberry at the London Egyptian embassy

This is a video documenting the TUC's visit to the Egyptian embassy to deliver a letter to the Egyptian government.

Below is a transcript of the speech given by Kay Carberry, TUC Assistant General Secretary, outside the Egyptian Embassy in London on 8 February 2011.

More information on Saturday's demonstration can be found here.
 

Check against delivery

On behalf of the TUC, its 55 affiliated trade unions, the 6.1 million workers they represent, and all workers across Britain, we are here today to deliver a message to the Egyptian Government.

And that message is simple: listen to the millions of Egyptians who are calling for an end to the repression, for their freedom, for decent work and basic human rights, and for immediate democratic reform.

This message is being delivered by trade union movements from across the globe today -the International Trade Union Confederation's global day of solidarity with the Egyptian people.

What we have witnessed on the streets of Cairo and across Egypt these past few weeks is incredible courage.

Courage in the face of violence: dozens of protestors have been killed, and dozens of journalists have been arrested or intimidated. And courage in staring down over 30 years of authoritarian rule.

This rule has continued to stoke violence on the streets. Our Egyptian union colleagues have reported to us that the regime has been instructing government employees to join the violence against the peaceful protest movement, and dismissing those who refuse.

But the workers there have had enough. They have had enough of worsening unemployment, the denial of their basic rights at work, and of being silenced by a state-controlled trade union.

Two weeks ago, a new union confederation - the Egypt Federation for Independent Unions - was launched in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Last week this new body launched their first set of demands and called for a general strike, as their Tunisian counterparts did at the height of the uprising there.

For those of us in Britain, their demands have a familiar ring to them. They are calling for:

The right to work, and unemployment benefits;

A decent minimum wage that allows them and their families to live in dignity;

A fair social security system, health care, housing, and free education; decent pensions and benefits; and

the right to organise and to collectively bargain.

Finally, they are calling for the release of Egypt's political prisoners.

These are not radical militant demands - but a call for dignity in working people's lives.

The new Egyptian trade union movement has the support of the International Trade Union Confederation and deserves support from all of us.

As in most democratic revolutions, trade unions will be vital to ensuring that the interests of ordinary people don't slip quietly off the stage as one elite replaces another.

In a state of crisis, they work across religious, political and geographic boundaries, to enable working people to call for democracy and social and economic justice.

Today we've asked the Egyptian Ambassador to accept our letter in person, and to meet with us to discuss our concerns. We've had no reply from His Excellency.

But our solidarity will continue. On Saturday, the TUC is joining with Amnesty International, the Muslim Council of Britain and dozens of other organisations to stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people.

We hope that the Ambassador and the regime will be listening.