By IRNA,
London : Britain’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) has delivered a letter to the Egyptian Embassy in London backing the demands of huge street protests in Cairo and other cities across the country.
“Listen to the millions of Egyptians who are calling for an end to the repression, for their freedom, for decent work and basic human rights, and for immediate democratic reform,” said the message, delivered by TUC assistant general secretary Kay Carberry.
Carberry said that the mass protests across Egypt had shown “incredible courage” in the face of violence, and dozens being killed, arrested and intimated.
The letter of support was delivered ahead of the 55 trade unions affiliated to the TUC, representing over 6 million workers, are joining in a global day of solidarity with the Egyptian people called by the International Trade Union Confederation this Saturday.
Carberry said the last 18 days of protests “staring down over 30 years of authoritarian rule” and that Egyptian colleagues have reported that the regime has been instructing government employees to join the violence against the peaceful protest movement, and dismissing those who refuse.
“But the workers there have had enough. They have had enough of worsening unemployment, the denial of their basic rights at work, and of being silenced by a state-controlled trade union,” she said in a copy of the message obtained by IRNA.
Saturday’s demonstration in London’s Trafalgar Square is also being supported by Amnesty International, the Muslim Council of Britain and dozens of other organisations, including Stop the War Coalition, which marched to the Egyptian embassy last Saturday.
Amnesty said that rallies were taking place in at least 30 cities across the world to mark a “Global Day of Action” in solidarity with protestors in Egypt and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
‘We want the people of Egypt to know that while governments outside Egypt may be wavering in their support for change, the people’s movements are not,” said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty.
“Their demand and ours is for an end to repression and for fundamental human rights reforms so that all people can live in dignity. We stand in solidarity with the protesters and we stand in defiance against those who oppose human rights change,” Shatty said.