- 15 protests have been documented by the Social Movements Monitoring Center during the time period from August 15 to August 30, 2020, including eight labor and professional protests and three social protests.
- Protesting methods:
Suicide cases and labor strikes topped the list of protest methods during the reporting period. There were 3 suicide cases due to poor economic conditions. On 26 August 2020, a farmer in Minya’s Bani Mazar city committed suicide after passing through a financial distress. On 21 August, a young man at Cairo’s Al-Marg district committed suicide by hanging himself and carpets’ shop owner at Gharbyia governorate’s Basyoun district also killed himself on August 16.
The reporting period also recorded three cases of labor strikes, in addition to sit-ins and gathering cases which came in the second place with two cases each, followed by one protest case that took place during this period.
Examples of such protests:
- On August 16, about 5000 workers at T&C Garments gathered at the company’s headquarters announcing that would go on strike in protest against the deduction of the Eid holiday payment from their salaries and the increase in the number of working hours, demanding the return of the old work hours.
- On August 25, the nursing staff at Aswan University Hospital went on a strike. Also, the workers of Fertilizer Talkha organized on August 16 a protest denouncing the selling of the factory.
- In the same context, the workers of the Arab Electric Cables Company went on a strike on August 26 at the company’s headquarters at Cairo’s Al-Amiriya district to denounce deducting 300 pounds from their salaries.
- The Qalyubia Security Directorate announced the arrest of 15 people in Al-Khanka district accusing them of throwing stones at security forces after the demolition of their homes.
Distribution of protests in Egypt’s governorates
The protests distributed in Egypt’s different governorates as follows: Cairo witnessed 5 protest cases; Aswan, Alexandria and Gharbia governorates witnessed two protest cases each, while Sharkia, Dakahlia, Qalyubia, Menoufia, and Minya governorates witnessed one protest each.
- The protesting sectors
The protests took place during the reporting period were focused on the following sectors: health, chemical industries, and metallurgical and engineering industries; with one protest per sector.
It also witnessed the emergence of new sectors such as: locality and housing sectors; and this is due to the enactment of the New Reconciliation Law regarding construction violations.
