Spokesperson for the Egyptian Social Democratic Party Mohamed Arafat said the president's decision to defer union elections and keep the trade union boards on for an additional year will increase tension among laborers and lead to further strikes, in light of the absence of an elected body that represents them and their demands.
Arafat called on the president, in a statement Sunday, to swiftly issue a law which will regulate trade unions' work and to discuss the new law with different labor and political parties.
Arafat said that in order to achieve progress, laborers should have rights, just as they do in more stable countries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
