Egypt: Alexandria textile workers go on strike

Textile workers in Alexandria said they would continue their strike despite deductions promised by the management of their factory over the action. More than 4500 worker at the al-Nasr Textile Company in Alexandria (Cabo) entered their third consecutive day of striking on Friday, where they demanded their paychecks.
The company had promised to pay the employees and to hand out meal vouchers, however neither promises were kept.

The action comes as workers across Egypt become embattled in action, strikes and boycotts to demand their rights as employees. The Alexandria-based factory is the latest in a string of strikes aimed at securing their pay promised in contracts and agreements with companies.

Abdul Rahim Shaker, an employee at the factory, stressed that while the managers and inspectors received large earnings of over 137,000 LE, the company failed to handout paychecks to employees, despite their pay being meager, consisting of only 300LE.

Ali El-Badri, Head of the Egyptian Workers Federation asserted to Ikhwanweb – the Muslim Brotherhood’s official English language website – that “the workers will continue the strikes until Eid and if necessary throughout Eid until they receive what is rightfully theirs.”

In swift retaliation, the company decided to deduct three working days to punish the strikers for their conduct, however the employees were not deterred and confirmed that they would continue their strike until their demands are met.

In Tanta, workers continue to battle their company for back pay and bonuses promised to them. Since late May, over one thousand workers have been conducting a sit-in on the company’s property in order to assert what they beleive are their rights. Recently, they have demanded the government take over control of the factory in an effort to get paid.

The national workers union has backed away from a number of strikes across the country, including the one in Tanta, forcing workers to struggle to make ends meet.