VZCZCXYZ0010
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #0724 1001240
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091240Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8866
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 000724 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM ECON EG
SUBJECT: NILE DELTA TOWN LARGELY CALM APRIL 8-9; PM 
"REWARDS" WORKERS 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 715 
     ¶B. CAIRO 697 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Even after the parade of Egyptian cabinet ministers 
and attendant security had long returned to Cairo, the 
streets of Mehalla el Kubra remained relatively calm the 
evening of April 8 and early April 9.  Earlier on April 8, 
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif joined the three ministers of 
Manpower, Investment, and Social Solidarity for meetings with 
worker representatives at the Ghazl el Mehalla textile 
factory.  In addition to delivering a reward for their 
decision not to pursue a planned strike (ref A), the visits 
attempted to draw a line between the workers' grievances and 
the violence that had erupted in the streets, which the PM 
ascribed to sabotage by "foreign parties."  Enhancing its 
previously reported inducements, the GOE said it will 
compensate the Ghazl el Mehalla workers with a 30-day bonus, 
and provide all Egyptian textile workers with a 15-day bonus. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The numbers of those killed or injured during the 
violence of April 6-7 have yet to be confirmed, as have 
reports regarding the death of a little girl due to exposure 
to tear gas.  However, several press reports, quoting 
security and hospital sources, have confirmed the death of a 
15-year-old boy, Ahmad Ali Mabrouk Hamada.  According to the 
reports, Hamada died after being shot by police during 
clashes on April 7.  The hospital source quoted in the 
reports also said that 96 had been injured, seven critically. 
 Many involved in the clashes remain detained in police 
custody; however, the precise number is not known. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Some local commentators have remarked that the GOE's 
inducements to Mehalla workers, and statements ascribing the 
violence to "foreign parties" and "saboteurs," are shallow 
attempts to deflect attention from the palpable anger 
displayed by ordinary citizens beset by poverty and rising 
prices.  Workers and labor activists are quick to point out 
that the GOE has made many promises before to address their 
long-term grievances over wage stagnation, the rising cost of 
living, and fears of privatization, but with little result. 
The 30-day bonuses promised to the Mehalla workers might 
equal approximately USD 30 to 90 dollars per worker. 
RICCIARDONE