Restive Egypt workers pose economic, political threats

[FarCenter]

MAHALLA EL-KUBRA, Egypt (Reuters) - Like many Egyptians, textile factory worker Magdi el-Aleemy expected the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak to change his life. It did, but not for the better.

The firm where he worked for 10 years, like so many other businesses in Egypt, was pummeled when the economy nosedived as investors fled and orders dried up. Aleemy lost his job.

"The revolution did nothing for us," said Aleemy, standing with dozens of others protesting outside his old factory gates in Mahalla el-Kubra, north of Cairo. "We will stay here until or demands are met," he said, drawing a roar of support from others.

Expectations were sky-high when Mubarak was driven out in February. For many, it signaled an end to policies they said lined the pockets of a rich elite at the expense of ordinary Egyptians. Workers expected a swift economic dividend.

Eight months later, disappointment that the dividend has not materialized is fuelling a wave of worker unrest that the military-backed government, wary of provoking fresh political turmoil, is not attempting to suppress forcibly.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/07/us-egypt-workers-unrest-idUSTRE7964SL20111007