A worker has been arrested by security forces near the Press Syndicate ahead of planned Labour Day protests, reports the independent coalition for workers’ rights Tadamon.

Heavy security presence has so far forestalled workers’ planned protests near the Press Syndicate’s headquarters in Cairo’s downtown on Sunday, according to a Daily News Egypt correspondent.

Tamadon reports that security forces have threatened to use force against workers if they begin to demonstrate.

Tamadon, a coalition of 36 workers’ and professionals’ syndicates and unions, planned to stage a protest on Sunday to commemorate Labour Day. The coalition called the international workers day a day of “mourning” and denounced “anti-worker” legislation.

The coalition has taken a leading role in advocating for workers since the issuance of the civil service law in March 2015 against which they organised protest. Parliament rejected the law in February 2016.