VOA常速英语2007-Egypt Moves to Halt Spread of Labor Strikes

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
04 October 2007

The Egyptian government is trying to head off a new wave of labor¹ strikes that have erupted since a standoff at a key textile plant last week.  Workers at a number of factories around the country have announced strikes, but their demands have been quickly met.  A top labor advocate says the government is trying to stop the industrial actions from becoming a wider political crisis.  VOA's Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

When 27,000 workers at Egypt's largest textile factory walked off the job for the second time in a year, it took less than a week before high-level negotiators agreed to meet almost all of their demands to get the state-owned factory back online.

After the success of the striking workers in Mahalla, other strikes popped up around the country, including at a textile plant in Damietta, and a linseed oil factory in Tanta, both in the Nile Delta² north of Cairo.  In those cases, the government has quickly given in to workers' demands.

The state-owned press has downplayed the political aspects of the wave of labor unrest.  Three government-run newspapers quoted Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif saying the government is concerned about workers' rights.

Several analysts³ say the government is trying to quickly end the strikes and keep the focus on economic issues because it fears labor unrest might spread and become more political.

Top labor rights advocate Kamal Abbas notes that unlike major work stoppages in 1989 and 1994, these striking workers have generally not been met with force.

He says the government is largely meeting workers demands so they do not widen, and so there will be no merging⁴ of labor strikes and political resistance.

The government's approach to the striking workers is in marked contrast to its recent crackdown on political opposition⁵ leaders and critics in civil society.  Five independent newspaper editors were recently sentenced to prison terms, opposition presidential candidate Ayman Nour is in jail, and senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood⁶ are facing trial in military courts.

Abbas was director of the Center for Workers and Trade Union Services, a non-governmental group that was shut down by the government several months ago after 17 years of educational work and legal advocacy on behalf of Egyptian laborers⁷.

He says most of the political opposition groups are largely elite⁸ movements, with little grassroots support, but the government cannot afford to antagonize the country's workforce⁹.

He said he expects the number of strikes to increase as inflation continues to rise, hitting workers' pocketbooks.

The government acknowledged Wednesday that food prices have spiked¹⁰ by 16.4 percent this month.

Poor Egyptians are finding the price increases especially hard to bear during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when they traditionally break their daytime fasts with a special meal known as Iftar.  They are also preparing for the Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan. 

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

7 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

8 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句