{"id":20018444,"date":"2022-11-30T15:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T15:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging-new.dabangasudan.org\/all-news\/article\/el-burhan-freeze-of-sudanese-unions-and-syndicates-provokes-mixed-reactions"},"modified":"2024-10-18T15:49:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:49:27","slug":"el-burhan-freeze-of-sudanese-unions-and-syndicates-provokes-mixed-reactions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/el-burhan-freeze-of-sudanese-unions-and-syndicates-provokes-mixed-reactions","title":{"rendered":"El Burhan freeze of Sudanese unions and syndicates provokes mixed reactions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The decision of the President of the Sovereignty Council Abdelfattah El Burhan to freeze trade unions and professional syndicates has sparked mixed reactions among politicians and trade unionists.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On October 24, Sudan\u2019s Supreme Court decreed the reinstatement of the unions and federations that were dissolved by the now-disbanded Empowerment Removal Committee* in March 2019 and cancel all the procedures that resulted from ERC\u2019s work. These unions have now been suspended again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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El Wasig El Bereir, Secretary General of the National Umma Party and leading member of the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change that is currently negotiating a new government with the military junta, commented by saying that El Burhan’s decision to freeze all activities of the trade unions and syndicates, professional federations, and the Employers’ Federation, has both positive and negative outcomes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In an interview with Radio Dabanga, he said that \u201cthe decision blocks the way for Islamist entities to control the unions, but at the same time does not return the unions to the steering committees formed after the revolution\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He made it clear that the decision will not affect the political process based on the draft of a transitional constitution put forward by the Steering Committee of the Sudanese Bar Association (SBA).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ashraf Abdelaziz, editor-in-chief of El Jareeda<\/em> newspaper, said that El Burhan’s decision to freeze trade unions \u201ccomes in conjunction with preparing the climate for signing the agreement between the FFC-CC and the military\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He explained to Radio Dabanga that the return of the former SBA would have led to the loss of legitimacy in the organisation\u2019s draft constitution, which would affect the negotiations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He described the decision as \u201cimproper.\u201d However, he considered it a good step which should be welcomed, in order to make way for further steps in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mahjoub Kanari, a union leader, denounced the \u201cinterference by the state in union affairs.\u201d\u00a0Kanari explained to Radio Dabanga that the case of the unions should be legally resolved, \u201ceither by the members through general assemblies or by law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said that El Burhan resorted to freezing the decision over trade unions because the decisions of Judge Mohamed Babiker, better known by his nickname Abu Sabiha, and his affiliates to restore the trade unions formed during the regime of ousted President Al Bashir put the state in a real dilemma. He accused El Burhan of looking to control the trade unions by appointing steering committees to officially take over the tasks through rigged elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kanari called on all trade unions to resist the decision by holding general assemblies and electing their own unions, so that the trade union movement returns to what it was in the past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Background\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Members of the former regime’s Lawyers Syndicate violently confronted<\/a> members of the\u00a0SBA\u00a0steering committee on November 1. Following the event, Lawyer Sati El Haj, a member of the SBA defence team, said that they\u00a0\u201care targeting progressive unions, especially the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate, the SBA, and the Sudanese Engineers Union\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The attack came after the SBA announced its rejection of the decision by the Supreme Court\u2019s Appeals Committee\u00a0to reject their appeal and thus reinstate Bashir-allied trade unions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On October 23, Sudan\u2019s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC)\u00a0cancelled the registration<\/a> of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Society, after telecom companies cut off the internet connection of the Association despite a number of official complaints.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The controversial cancellation came almost two months after the HAC allowed the re-registration<\/a> of 23 non-governmental organisations and associations which \u201crepresent hidden facades\u201d of the dissolved NCP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In mid-November, Radio Dabanga interviewed a number of farmers involved in the El Gezira Agricultural Scheme who were discussing unionising. Farmer Heisam El Sawy called for a return of the Farmers\u2019 Union<\/a>. He said that \u201cthe experience of a farmers\u2019 union is marred by stigmas because the former leaders of the union were appointed by the regime of ousted President Omar Al Bashir.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since last October\u2019s military coup, Sudanese state ministers and officials have resorted to practices<\/a>\u202fused by the former regime of dictator Omar Al Bashir, such\u202fas piling on bureaucratic procedures to extract profit and attempting to interfere in NGO procurements, according to aid workers, experts, and UN agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In July, Radio Dabanga reported that the violent suppression<\/a> of freedoms that characterised the 30-year regime of Omar Al Bashir is increasing again at all levels of society, along with friendly ties between the military and Al Bashir’s ousted National Congress Party (NCP).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Under Al Bashir, the\u00a0HAC was staffed by security officers who frequently denied access to INGOs and treated foreign aid workers as western spies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Applications for Sudanese NGOs were often refused<\/a> or given after \u201cextra fees\u201d were paid. HAC and\u00a0security officers also regularly attended workshops and training, often in disguise. This caused the prominent NGO Sudanese Organisation for Research and Development (SORD) to temporarily register as a company instead of an organisation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n