Egypt: Mahalla Labor Activists May Go On Hunger Strike

CAIRO: Labor activists from the Ghazl El-Mahalla spinning factory are threatening to launch a hunger strike in protest at the sacking of factory workers. The Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) said in a statement issued Monday that 15 workers are protesting inside the company’s headquarters.

Egypt: Mahalla Labor Activists May Go On Hunger Strike

By Sarah Carr / Daily News Egypt
December 21, 2009

CAIRO: Labor activists from the Ghazl El-Mahalla spinning factory are threatening to launch a hunger strike in protest at the sacking of factory workers.

The Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) said in a statement issued Monday that 15 workers are protesting inside the company’s headquarters.

CTUWS also says that more than 500 workers congregated outside the factory gates at 7 am when morning shift workers arrived, and for an hour chanted slogans against company policy.

Company security guards reportedly closed factory gates to prevent workers inside the factory from joining the protest.

The latest worker to face disciplinary measures as a result of his activity in industrial activity is Mostafa Fouda, who on Dec. 10, 2009 was told that he had been dismissed.

Fouda was among a group of workers involved in the planning of a strike earlier this month which was aborted following threats that workers who joined the strike would face disciplinary consequences.

Last year, five workers were transferred from the main factory in Mahalla after they took part in protests. Some of these transfer orders were subsequently quashed in court.


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