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Middle East Analysis

What Does a Failed Strike Mean?

By Elizabeth R. Nugent, Cairo- based U.S. Fulbright Fellow (Egypt Daily News)

posted on 05/07/08

On May 4, 2008, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak celebrated his 80th birthday. In a country such as Egypt—where 45 percent of the population survives on less than $2 per day, people die while waiting in bread lines and inflation of prices runs even more rampant than in the rest of the world—one might wonder what President Mubarak had to celebrate. But it seems that Mubarak got his birthday wish. The streets of Cairo were bustling as usual despite calls from opposition parties and independent activists to stay at home to strike against rising prices and the corruption in the current regime.

The May 4 strike was planned in the aftermath of the April 6 strike, during which many Cairenes actually did observe in solidarity with the workers of a state-owned textile factory in Mahalla. These workers were continuing a year-long protest about their own wages while addressing the current economic issues plaguing Egypt: rising prices, depressed salaries and a growing gap between the wealthy and the poor. …Both strikes were not as widespread as predicted and considered a disappointment by many. … However, neither strike could be dubbed a complete failure because of the important new developments that have occurred within the last month in Cairo.

One of the most important lessons from these strikes is that the government took the strikes—or at least the threat of the strikes—seriously. The police presence in the city, particularly in downtown Cairo, was impressive. … Mubarak also responded to some of the demands of the strike. He recently ordered the army to help increase bread production and announced a 30 percent pay increase for public sector employees. …

The strikes and their seeming failures prove two important points. The first is that there is a distinction between internet movements and actual movements. … Egypt has a vibrant and critical blogging scene, yet this has failed to translate into cohesive opposition support and failed to help the strikes succeed. The second point is perhaps the most important. …Until the majority of Egyptians are economically stable enough to take a day off to protest, major change cannot and will not occur. Access the full article>>