Demanding the Release of Workers: Protest Activities by the Solidarity Committee with Naval Arsenal Workers Referred to Military Trials

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

The Solidarity Committee, along with the workers of the Naval Arsenal Company, referred to military trials in Alexandria on charges of work refusal and assembly, has decided to organize a series of events starting today, Saturday. These actions aim to demand the release of the workers, whose military trial is set to resume the following Monday.

At the end of May, the workers demanded that the management pay their occupational allowances based on their basic salaries, permanently employ 36 workers who had fulfilled the legal duration of their contracts, and grant them their overdue promotions. Instead, they were shocked to find 26 workers summoned to appear before the military prosecutor.
The committee, which includes several political, human rights, and labor groups, has announced the following solidarity activities:

• A collective change to Facebook timelines with stickers such as #NoMilitaryTrialsForWorkers and #NotAtHomeForEid.
• Posting pictures of supporters holding signs that say, “I stand in solidarity with the Naval Arsenal workers.”
• Activating hashtags such as #IStandWithNavalArsenalWorkers.
• Organizing a solidarity sit-in on the steps of the Journalists’ Syndicate during the week.
• Holding a conference in Alexandria featuring campaign representatives and labor leaders.
• Sending solidarity delegations to the National Council for Human Rights, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the families of the accused workers.
The campaign continues to gather signatures for a petition demanding the release of the workers and the cancellation of their military trials. Signatories include labor, union, and parliamentary leaders in Egypt and worldwide.
In Egypt, signatories include:
• Mohamed Abdel Quddous, Chair of the Committee for the Defense of the Oppressed.
• Laila Soueif, university professor.
• Haitham Hariri, Member of Parliament.
• Mahmoud Kamel is a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate board.
• Ragia Omran is a member of the National Council for Human Rights.
• Hala Lotfy, filmmaker.
• Tarek Tito, assistant secretary of the Freedoms Committee in the Dostour Party.
• Mohamed Al-Baqer, lawyer.
• Ahmed Eid Ismail is president of the independent union of Afri Medical Company workers.
• Additionally, dozens of journalists, workers, engineers, and artists have signed.
The list also includes foreign student and union leaders, such as:
• Daniel Tebladi is the leader of the Nursing Students Against Grant Cuts campaign.
• Janet Maiden, nurse and secretary of the London University Hospital branch of the health workers’ union.
• Dr. Mona Kamal of the British Medical Association.
• Julie Shari is a senior activist in the Unite Against Austerity movement.
Several international supporters have written messages backing the workers. From New York, Jeffrey Abrams said: “The Egyptian government is betraying the aspirations of its people for freedom.” Steven Kwitter from Greenfield, UK, stated: “Workers worldwide must unite; they only win when they are united.” From Manchester, UK, Jeff Brown emphasized: “Solidarity is the key to victory.” Meanwhile, Emma Quinn, from Dublin, Ireland, described the military trial of workers as “a blatant violation of basic human rights.”
The petition, titled “No to Military Trials for Workers,” has been signed by 10 labor and professional unions, nine political parties and movements, and nine rights campaigns and centers.
The Solidarity Committee with Naval Arsenal Workers—which includes the Bread and Freedom Party, Strong Egypt Party, Dostour Party, Revolutionary Socialists, Popular Current, No to Military Trials Campaign, Towards a Fair Labor Law Campaign, Egyptian Center for Economic Rights, Center for Women’s Issues, Hisham Mubarak Law Center, and the Right to Education Center, along with labor unions—calls on all political, human rights, and labor forces to participate in the committee’s activities and join its efforts. This aims to strengthen solidarity with the workers, who exercised their natural right as civilian workers to protest for their most basic rights but were referred to military trials lacking the most fundamental guarantees of justice.

The committee warns against the dangers of turning labor relations within military-affiliated institutions into forced labor relationships. Workers would then be compelled to work under coercion, with the threat of military trials looming over them, especially as the military’s economic activities expand.
Solidarity Committee with Naval Arsenal Workers