one of the earliest recorded labor strikes In about the 25th year of the reign of Ramses III (c. 1170 BCE) the laborers were so exasperated by delays in supplies they threw down their tools and walked off the job in what may have been the first sit-down strike in recorded history. They wrote a letter to the Vizier complaining about lack of wheat rations. Village leaders attempted to reason with them but they refused to return to work until their grievances were addressed. They responded to the elders with great oaths. We are hungry, the crews claimed; eighteen days have passed this month and they still had not received their rations. They were forced to buy their own wheat. They told them to send to the Pharaoh or Vizier to address their concerns. After the authorities had heard their complaints they addressed them and the workers went back to work the next day. There were several strikes that followed. After one of them, when the strike leader asked the workers to follow him they told them they had had enough and returned to work. This was not the last strike but they soon restored the regular wheat supplies and the strikes came to an end for the remaining years of Ramesses III. However since the chiefs supported the authorities the workers no longer trusted them and chose their own representatives. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_el-Medina#Strikes
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 01:59:04 +0000
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