Our country faces conspiracy

Minister of Manpower and Immigration Kamal Abu Eita Cairo – Mohammed Al Dawi Egypt's labour minister Kamal Abu Eita said that Egypt is currently facing internal and foreign conspiracies, and accused Muslim Brotherhood supporters of resorting to violent protest. The former trade union leader was appointed interim Minister of Manpower and Immigration after the popularly backed ouster of former president Mohammed Morsi by the army on July 3. Critics say the interim government is using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to crack down on Muslim Brotherhood supporters, who continue to protest for the reinstatement of the toppled president. Abu Eita, who is also a founding member Nasserist Al-Karama Party, told Arab Today he had participated in numerous peaceful demonstrations over the past four decades in support of labour rights in Egypt and he was disappointed pro-Morsi protesters had – he claimed - resorted to carrying weapons. The minister said that when he took on his new role, he pledged to meet the demands of the people, restore their rights and achieve social justice, saying it was important at this stage to pay attention to the needs of the poor in order to avoid a “revolution of the hungry”. He said the new government would draft new mechanisms to achieve social justice, as well as expanding training centres and developing human capital for participation in both the national and international labour markets. On becoming labour minister on July 15, Abu Eita told Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram he had accepted the role despite knowing it “could be political suicide, given the difficulty of the transitional period in Egypt". Abu Eida, who was President of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, said Egyptian workers face many problems, which he would try to resolve by offering people the services they needed to increase production. He called on Muslim Brotherhood supporters to throw down their weapons, saying he understood “jihad” to be a war against a foreign enemy, not fellow Egyptians. As for the question of whether the military had used the threat of violence to force the Muslim Brotherhood-led government to stand down, the labour minister said the army had responded to the will of the Egyptian people. The Egyptian people had lived a unique experience, Abu Eida said, and while governments focused on ensuring the security of Israel, Egypt’s revolution had inspired ordinary people around the world. He said the government would work to achieve the objectives of the Egyptian revolution, including freedom, social justice and dignity. The manpower minister said he was optimistic about the future of Egypt's workers. They should be given fair wages to confront the challenges of the market, he said, adding that the ministry would work to open channels of dialogue between employees and managers.