Download The Arab Spring

"Union Training on Union Organization & Development"
The Arab Spring
September 26th - October 7th
Abdallah Alagha
Introduction To The Arab Spring
Named “Arab Spring”
to make a reference to
the people spring at
1848 in Europe.
Started as a social and national movement in late 2010 in Tunisia
and still moving until now in other Arab countries.
In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Morroco & Jordan.
Non Violence in Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen and Bahrain.
Violence in Libya and Syria.
Common slogan: “Erhal”,
which means: Get out.
Arab Spring = Youth Revolution
Youth played a central role in sparking protest movements across the Arab world,
and starting the revolutionary wave.
From Morocco to Bahrain, passing by Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, Youth
share the same conditions and looking almost for the same aims.
The objectives of Arab Spring ?
Bread (work) - Freedom - Dignity
Why the Youth Revolt ?
Expression of liberty
Corruption
Cost of life, jobless
Need of system of good governance.
But without help from other countries.
Main Features
Non violence.
No leadership.
Use of Facebook, Twitters,
internet blogs.
Rebuild geopolitics: Economy,
Natural Resources and the
Palestinian Question.
"We are here cleaning our country
Egypt, which is our property and
not anyone else's."
The Role of Trade Unions in the Arab Spring
TUNISIA
The Tunisian General Union of Labor: (UGTT)
During the protests following Bouazizi’s death, the union cut its
ties with the government and embraced true independence,
organizing its half-million members to join the protests.
As protesters gathered on
Tahrir Square, Egyptian
workers united to form the
Egyptian Federation for
Independent Unions,
effectively destroying the
state-controlled Egyptian
Trade Union Federation.
Between 2004 and 2008, 1.7 million Egyptian
workers had already launched almost 2,000 strikes.
EGYPT
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.
T h e
H o r i z o n
In Yemen, Bahrain, Mauritania Tunisia and Egypt, the newly
independent trade unions seek democracy, economic
stability, and more liberal — rather than religious —
government.
“Since the start of the Arab Spring blossom with the
entire rainbow colors, even with some levels of blood
colors, the Arab nation found the starting point to its
way of happiness”
“Ziad Muna”
16 September 2011
The founding union
organizations are from
Bahrain (GFTU); Egypt
(EFITU); Iraq (GFIW); Kuwait
(KTUF); Jordan (GFJTU); Libya
( FLWF*); Mauritania (CLTM,
CNTM, UTM); Morocco (CDT,
CGTM, UMT); Palestine
(PGFTU); Tunisia (UGTT); and
Yemen (GFYWTU).
Fifteen Arab trade union
organizations from 10 countries
founded a new Forum to promote
the fundamental values of
democratic and independent trade
unionism and to increase regional
union solidarity and unity.
“The transition process to democracy as well as
the revolutionary struggles, which are still
ongoing, need a better contribution from the
Arab trade union movement. Our priorities are
to achieve genuine democracy and social
justice, to ensure dignity for all in the Arab
world”
Tunisian trade unionist Abdessalem Jerad
The elected President of the new Forum
The final declaration of the meeting
• “A key historic player in many national liberation
battles, the independent trade union movement
in the Arab world has been struggling for decades
under the most difficult circumstances to enforce
the freedom of association and the right to
organize, as well as to defend fundamental rights
at work and decent livelihoods for workers’
families and the rest of the society. Free trade
union fighters in the region have faced campaigns
of heavy repression and exclusion.”
Members of the forum committed themselves to defend and
promote the core principles of independent trade unionism.
The right of all workers to form independent and representative trade union
organizations.
The right to collective bargaining, the rejection of any outside interference
in trade union affairs.
Respect for public and individual freedoms, including the right to freedom of
expression and peaceful demonstration.
Top Priority of the Forum:
Equality between men and women, elimination of all forms of
discrimination, including against migrant workers, genuine social dialogue,
efficient social protection for all workers, including those working on the
informal economy.
Finally
• Youth are the leading figure in the Arab spring.
• They also lead the reforming of the social
institutions, that includes the trade unions,
which was controlled by the dictatorship
regimes.
• It is a process of opening a closed regimes
which may take time, however its good to
start rather than to wait and do nothing.
Thank You
Abdallah Alagha