The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU, also referred to as the Egyptian Independent Trade Union FederationSolidarity Magazine
/ref>) was the first independent

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

to be founded following the

2011 Egyptian Revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

. Previously, independent trade unionism was illegal and almost all trade unions were under government control.

Formation

For the years leading up to the Revolution, workers had been engaged in strikes and actions against the Mubarak regime. These actions eventually coalesced into the Revolution itself and formed the movement behind the establishment of the Federation. On 30 January 2011, as part of the

2011 Egyptian protests The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

, a meeting convened in Tahrir square led to the formation of the Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions in response to the effective state control of the

Egyptian Trade Union Federation The Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) is a trade union based in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile The ETUF was founded in 1957 as a state-controlled union. Until 2011 all unions other than the ETUF were banned. During the Egyptian Revolut ...

. The founding declaration of the Constitutional Body was issued in the name of the following organisations, as well as various workers' independent groups in industries :*RETA :*Retired Workers' Union :*Health Professionals Union :*Teachers' Independent Union

Demands

The first acts of the new federation were to call for a general strike in support of the opposition movement's demands for change, and to publish a list of demands for wage reform, welfare reform, workers rights and the release of opposition detainees. These demands received support from a number of Labour organisations internationally, including the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

and the British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

Touchstone Blogger
Owen Tudor
In July 2011, the federation called for

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...

(BDS) against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the expulsion of

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

from the ITUC

which won the backing of the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions ...

(COSATU).

References

Anti-Zionism in Egypt International Trade Union Confederation National federations of trade unions Trade unions in Egypt Economy of the Arab League Trade unions established in 2011 2011 establishments in Egypt {{Africa topic, Trade unions in