He began his work by organizing a strike at a steel plant in Helwan, Egypt in 1989, for which he was arrested, tortured, and fired.

[3] The Los Angeles Times called Abbas "a major annoyance" to President Hosni Mubarak's regime, and "passionate, methodical and accustomed to police surveillance.

Abbas' work gained momentum and attention during the 2011 Egyptian revolution, where he helped mobilize workers in the nationwide movement for civil rights and the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's regime.

In 1989 he participated in a strike at the Iron and Steel Company plant in Helwan where 19,000 workers sought wage increases and a meal during work.

[9] Several months later in 1990, Abbas co-founded CTUWS in Helwan to support workers and address the lack of independent unions in the private sector.

[3][6][8][clarification needed] He was guided by the advice of Yusuf Darwish, a long-time communist and labor lawyer, with whom Abbas had previously led the People's Socialist Party.

Abbas said that his General Union for Mineral, Electrical, and Engineering Industries at first refused to grant him status as a labor representative.

"[20] In July 2005 Abbas was attacked by plain-clothes Egyptian security forces while demonstrating against human rights abuses by the Mubarak regime.

He recommended switching focus to ununionized private sector workers: "The minister of investment has openly stated that except for four companies the little that remains of the industrial public sector is for sale...the real battle is to fight for trade union pluralism, to build a new and independent trade union structure.

"[23] In November 2007 Abass criticized the government sale of companies to international investors, arguing the transactions led to workers losing their jobs.

[5] Abbas envisioned a charismatic opposition leader who could rise up amidst the tension, but he did not believe such an individual would be part of the labor movement.

"[5] In April 2007 Abbas' CTUWS office was shut down and he was accused of working with "external forces" in order to disrupt the country's economy.

The government closed CTUWS' Helwan headquarters and two other branches in Nag' Hamadi and Mehala Al-Kobra for "security reasons".

[25] Ibrahim filed three petitions against Abbas and claimed that the magazine article "publicly defamed him as a state-appointed civil servant".

Prosecuting and sentencing journalists for publishing offences is all part of the government's general crack-down on civil liberties.

[27] The International Confederation of Trade Unions (ITUC), accused the Mubarak regime of going after opposition groups and media.

We are particularly concerned that these prison sentences follow a long tradition of repression of the CTUWS, an independent civil society organization committed to defending trade union and workers rights in Egypt," said Guy Ryder, ITUC general secretary.

[27] A coalition of the Italian trade unions sent a letter to Mubarak asking him to "ensure that CTUWS is not persecuted and demanding that "this particular case could be reviewed.

[27] Egyptian labour historian Joel Beinin said, "The attack on CTUWS is part of the intensification of the assault of the Mubarak regime against its opponents".

[25] After Abbas' and Helmy's September conviction, an investigation by the Governor of Cairo found the charges of corruption at the youth center to be true.

Abbas supported working with the new committee's goals, which included a minimum annual salary increase of seven per cent.

[33] Also in August Abbas criticized ETUF head Megawer of being an appointed labor representative in positions that are mandated to be elected.

Abbas also criticized Megawer's affiliation with the National Democratic Party (NDP), suggesting that the ETUF should not be determining eligibility for parliamentary elections.

The challenge now that the revolution has succeeded is to be able to build a society of social justice.”[3] In February 2011 Abbas criticized the elections in federation syndicates for being corrupt with fraud.

He said, "There are 116 verdicts of administrative court annulling the last union elections and we believe members of the federation were involved in acts of violence against the protesters in Tahrir".

[38] Abbas interrupted the ETUF's Ismail Fahmy during his speech at the International Labour Organization (ILO) June 2011 conference.

... You participated in the passage of the privatization deals, and facilitated and justified the blatant attacks on the rights of workers ... You defended with impunity Mubarak's regime with its corruption, repression and tyranny, and then you plotted against the killing of the revolutionaries in Tahrir Square!

"[39] During the 2011 revolution Abbas made a video from Tahrir Square telling American workers who were on strike in Wisconsin: "From this place, I want you to know that we stand with you as you stood with us.

"[40][41]In March 2011, Abbas participated in a labour panel discussing the future of trade unions following the fall of Mubarak's regime.

"[42] On 29 February 2012, the CTUWS reported that Abbas had been sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for "insulting" a public official.