VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #1527 1991459
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171459Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9875
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 001527 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/IL, NSC FOR PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: CLOSED LABOR NGO RE-OPENS 
 
REF: 2007 CAIRO 1283 
 
¶1. (SBU) After a year-long legal battle, the Center for Trade 
Union and Workers Services (CTUWS), a labor rights group, has 
re-opened.  The group's offices were closed by State Security 
officers in April 2007, after the Ministry of Social 
Solidarity accused the organization of inciting nationwide 
labor unrest and of failing to register as a non-governmental 
association (reftel). At the time, CTUWS was registered as a 
"civil company," as its previous attempts to register as an 
NGO had been unsuccessful.  Labor activists told us they 
believed CTUWS was closed down as punishment for its role in 
advising striking workers of their legal rights and previous 
GOE promises regarding pay and bonuses, and for its efforts 
to expose widespread irregularities in the 2006 labor union 
elections.  The Minister of Manpower Aisha Abdel Hady and the 
head of the government-controlled Egyptian Trade Union 
Federation both stated publicly at the time that CTUWS was 
responsible for inciting labor unrest (reftel).  Subsequent 
to the closure of CTUWS offices, the group's general 
coordinator, Kamal Abbas, was sentenced to one year in prison 
after being found liable in a libel lawsuit. The jail 
sentence was suspended while Abbas fought it, and the 
decision against him was ultimately annulled in February 2008. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 30, the Cairo Administrative Court ruled 
that there was no reason that CTUWS should not be registered 
as an NGO. In accordance with the court's decision, on June 
25, the Ministry of Social Solidarity registered CTUWS as a 
"non-governmental services association."  On July 12, CTUWS 
held a re-opening party at its Cairo headquarters (it also 
plans to re-open offices in other cities, including the Nile 
Delta mill-town of Mahalla al Kubra, which has witnessed 
repeated strikes and unrest over the past year).  The event 
was attended by Minister of Manpower Aisha Abdel Hady and 
Minister of Social Solidarity Aly Moselhi.  According to 
attendees, in response to questions, Abdel Hady commented 
that the problems CTUWS had faced were the fault of the 
Ministry of Social Solidarity, to which Moselhi replied that 
he was "only applying Egyptian law," and that, "the influence 
of the security services on such decisions cannot be ignored 
.... the security services present reports that we must act 
on." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Comment: It is not clear whether the end to CTUWS' 
legal woes was a calculated decision by the GOE indicating 
lessened concern about workers strikes (which, after a 
slowdown in April and May, appear to be picking up again), or 
simply was a victory engineered by independent judges. 
Either way, CTUWS is now working legally as an NGO. 
SCOBEY