Naval Arsenal Workers: Delays in Hearings and Harsh Treatment in Police Stations

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

For over a month and a half, the Naval Arsenal Company workers in Alexandria have been detained in connection with their protests and demands for their legitimate rights, including profit-sharing, promotions, and occupational safety and health equipment. Such equipment is crucial to protect them from the dangers their colleagues have suffered—severe burns from molten metal in the casting workshop, amputations in manufacturing workshops, or even fatalities in workplace accidents (two workers died in February of this year).

Despite an agreement reached with the workers when ownership of the company was transferred to the Ministry of Defense in 2007—stating they would not suffer any losses in profits or annual incentives—the opposite has occurred. The company’s board of directors has terminated the services of 1,200 workers and reduced profit distributions from the equivalent of 11 months’ salary to just 8 months.
During the past month and a half, Egyptians have celebrated Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. Yet, these workers and their families—fathers, mothers, and wives—spent these days apart. The plight of the detained workers has been exacerbated by the harsh conditions they endure in the police stations in their residential neighborhoods, where their families face significant obstacles to visiting them. Families, despite their poverty, are forced to borrow money to pay bribes to facilitate visitation procedures.
The mistreatment extends beyond the detention facilities to the courts, which have refused, during the last two hearings, to allow families to attend sessions. Furthermore, the unjustified postponement of hearings prolongs the detention of the workers without clear reasons.

The remaining 2,500 workers at the Arsenal, who have not been arrested, are under house arrest, as the Arsenal remains closed by administrative order. This has resulted in no production and no incentives, appearing to be collective punishment for the workers demanding their rights.

The sense of oppression is deepened among some workers by the “rigid military mindset” that governs the company. Appeals submitted by the labor committee members to reconsider the company closure and release their colleagues—out of concern for their children, families, and the company’s future—have fallen on deaf ears.

To understand the immense pressure on the workers and their families, one must consider the widespread belief during this crisis that workers should remain silent and avoid speaking to the media or interacting with supporters. They were told, “Judgments are in the hands of the company’s military management, along with the fate of the imprisoned workers.”

It is evident that the increasing role of the military in the economy and its expansion into activities traditionally considered civilian intensifies workers’ grievances. This, in turn, draws the attention of the International Labor Organization to issues like forced labor for conscripts in the Ministry of Defense’s economic projects and the militarization of labor relations, including the imposition of military trials on civilians working in factories and projects now owned and managed by the military.
In issuing this statement, we emphasize the following demands:

1. Rejection of military trials for workers and all civilians.
2. Release of the detained Naval Arsenal workers.
3. Reopening of the company.
4. Implementation of the workers’ demands.
5. Paying full wages to the families of detained workers enables them to sustain themselves until their loved ones are released.
It is worth noting that the Constitution, judicial rulings, and international agreements signed by Egypt affirm that strikes and peaceful protests are legitimate rights—not crimes warranting military or even civilian trials for workers.
According to the Constitution, there are limited cases in which civilians can be tried in military courts, such as attacks on military installations. However, the workers’ protest was peaceful. The authorities are violating the law and the Constitution by detaining and subjecting them to military trials without any criminal justification.
The Campaign in Solidarity with the Naval Arsenal Workers