Tension runs high in lead-up to civil service law protest

As thousands of public sector employees brace for unauthorized mass protests on Saturday, workers fear both violent confrontations with security forces amid heated accusations wielded by anti-protest media personalities.

Saturday’s protests against the controversial civil service law are the sequel to an August 10 demonstration in front of the Journalists Syndicate, which observers said was one of the biggest street actions since 2013.

Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi approved the civil service law in March, critics have lambasted the legislation for negatively affecting nearly 7 million public workers by slashing their salaries, giving too much power to managers, and introducing vaguely worded regulations that could threaten basic labor rights.

There have been heated debates leading up to Saturday’s protest as to whether or not the demonstration will be legal, as the demonstrators have not obtained police permission. The 2013 protest law obliges the organizers of a protest to obtain approval from the police at least 24 hours in advance of the action. The law also gives authorities wide powers to turn down requests to protest if they “threaten security.”

The authorities did grant permission for the August 10 protest. However, the Interior Ministry has told local media outlets that it did not receive any requests to approve the Saturday protest.

Recent reports describing the ministry’s preparations for Saturday indicate the state’s grave concern. An unnamed security source told the privately owned newspaper Youm7 that any protests that go ahead without the required permissions are not allowed, and the ministry will respond firmly to any attempts to violate the law. Another source told the privately owned newspaper Al-Shorouk that the ministry has been monitoring calls for the protest that circulated on social media and news websites.

The source added that the ministry plans to intensify its presence in the areas where the protests are expected to take place, including the Fustat park in Cairo. Under the protest law, the park is one of the designated areas where protests can take place without prior police permission.

Security forces stationed at the protest site will be focused on keeping “terrorist elements” from infiltrating the protests, the source told Al-Shorouk. There have been widespread accusations that the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group triggered the public sector protest movement.

Such statements have pushed some protesters to back out of Saturday’s demonstration. In a statement published in the privately owned Al-Tahrir newspaper, a group of civil servants working for the Sales Taxation Authority claimed they decided to stay home Saturday after they heard that members of the Brotherhood, April 6 Youth Movement and Revolutionary Socialists would be joining the protest.

“When we held the August 10 protests, we respected the protest law, and the demonstration was perfect. We voiced our legitimate demands without letting anyone abuse them. We refused the participation of any parties or movements, because it was an employees-only protest,” the statement said.

The protest’s organizers, who represent 36 independent workers unions from across the country, have issued a statement clarifying that any calls to withdraw from Saturday’s protests only reflect the personal opinions of some civil servants, and denied rumors that the demonstration would be cancelled.

Furthermore, there are ongoing talks to convince the Sales Taxation Authority employees to reconsider their position, the organizers’ spokesperson Wael Tawfiq told the privately owned newspaper Al-Dostour.

He claimed that an authority representative had voiced fears that the media was waging a war against the protesting workers, and levying dangerous accusations that they belonged to the Brotherhood.

Stalwart Sisi supporters have been warning against the protest’s potential negative consequences. Talk show host Ahmed Moussa even claimed it could lead to ousted President Mohamed Morsi’s return during his daily show, which airs on the privately owned satellite channel Sada al-Balad.

“Egypt is in a critical condition,” Moussa said in an emotional, fear-mongering speech. He urged the protest’s organizers to look after the nation’s interests, not their own.

“We have to be united, just like we were on June 30. Please have some concern for our country. The US is not going to leave us alone — it sends its traitors everywhere,” he claimed.

In an interview aired on the same channel, former Muslim Brotherhood figure Kamal al-Hilbawy also accused the protesters of being influenced by the Brotherhood.

The state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation called on all employees to work for an extra hour on Saturday to oppose the protests.

In an interview with Youm7, Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby defended the civil service law, and claimed that calls for its annulment are baseless.

“The ministry conducted social dialogue sessions with the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, and corrected some misconceptions about the law. We also met for six hours with representatives from the independent syndicates that called for the protests,” he said.

Araby contended that some of the protester’s demands do not actually pertain to the law, while other demands are being considered by the ministry.