Tanta Linen Company workers in Egypt begin open-ended strike

1000 Tanta Linen Co. workers are striking, led for the first time in Egypt by an official trade union, the Textile Trade Union (TTU).

Submitted by Ed on June 3, 2009

The workers’ demands are to get paid bonuses on the basis of 2008 wage rate instead of 2003, the accumulated commissions that unpaid since selling the company to the Saudi investor, increasing the meal compensation from 32 L.E to 90 L.E like all other textile companies, a 7% regular subsidy, and the rehiring of their fired fellow workers.

Before this strike, the management of Tanta Linen Co. forcibly foiled any call for strike, threatening the workers to fire whoever participates in a striking action. Moreover, it forced them to sign on a non-striking commitment, however it didn’t work out.

This is not the first time for Tanta Linen Co. workers to go on strike. In 2006, the workers began their first strike that ended with an agreement to get the late payments. Nonetheless the management didn’t respect that agreement; therefore the workers went again on strike in September 2007. Although the employer representative, Mohammed Sobhi and the manger of the company, El Shahat Anyes, both were agreed on the workers’ then demands in the presence of the undersecretary of Man Power Ministry, Mohammed Soliman, the employer refused to fulfill the agreement items and fired some of the workers. In July 2008, the workers went on strike for the third time; in return, the management fired nine workers, including two union representatives, and took over the headquarters of union in the company.

The nine fired workers are Gamal Othman, Akad Tantawi, Ashref El Herati, Ali Abu Lilah, Ahmed El Shenawy, Ramadan El Bagwry, Mustafa El Sawy, plus two union representatives, Hesham El Okl and Rafeet Ramadan.

To save face, the holding company of chemical industries, to which Tanta Linen Co is annexed, sued the employer for not fulfilling the contract items, but in the end the court canceled the case because the lawyer of the holding company didn’t attend the court sessions. Moreover, the “disaster” contract states that any legal disputes shall be judged by international courts not Egyptian ones.

Tanta Linen Co. Workers’ problems have got much worse since the government sold the company to the Saudi investor Abdallah Saleh al-Ka'ki. Throughout its privatisation program, the government sold the company for L.E 83 million paid in three years installments, though the actual value of the company is L.E 500 million.

Comments

mostafa

14 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by mostafa on June 16, 2009

السيدالاستاذ/رئيس مؤتمر العمل الدولى

جنيف

تحية طيبة وبعد ""

نتشرف باحاطة سيادتكــــم علما بأننا قمنا بتنظــــــيم اضراب سلمى عن العمل للعاملين فى شركة طنطا للكتان والزيوت طبقــــا للقانون المصــــرى المنظــم لعلاقات العمل وذلك بعد فشل كافـة المفاوضات التى تمت مع صاحب العمل السعودىالجنسيــة عبد الالة الكعكى فـى الوصول الى حلـول لحـقوق العاملين بالشركة وهى :-

1- توقف الشركة عن صرف العلاوة الدورية التــــــى قررها قانون العمل والتى تقدر بمقدار 7% من الاجر الاساسى اعتبارا من 1/7/2008

2-توقف الشركة عــــــن صرف الحافز للعاملين على اساس الاجور الاساسية الحالية وتجميد عملية الصرف على مرتب 30/6/2004

3-امتناع الشركــــة عن زيادة بدل الوجبــــة الغذائية من 32جنيه الى 90جنية اسوه بالعاملين بالشركات الاخرى من نفس القطاع 0

4-قيام الشركة بفصل عــــــدد 9 عاملين منهم عدد2 نقابين خلال شهر يوليو 2007 وأكتوبر 2008وامتناعها عن عودتهم للعمل بالرغم من صدور احكام قضائية لصالح البعض منـــــــهم

5-امتناع الشركـــــــة عن صرف الارباح للعاملين منذ عام 2006 بالرغم من تحقيق فائض بميزانياتها من 2005 وحتى تاريخة .

علما بان المستثمر السعودى لا يلتزم بالقوانين والاتفاقيات الدوليـــة حيث قـام بفصل بعض العاملين والنقابيين فصـــــــلا تعسفيا فضلا عن اتخاذه اجراءات تعسـفية بمجرد الاعلان عن الاضراب منــها حرمان العاملين من صرف مرتباتهــــــم الشهرية عن شهر مايو 2009

وبالرغـــــــم من ان النقابة اعلنت عن الاضراب من يوم 31/5/2009 وحتى الان 00 الا انه لم يرضخ لاى تفاوض ويصر على تعنته وتعسفة ومخالفته كافــــــــة المواثيق والأعراف الدولية ذات الصلة بعلاقات العمل0

نأمل التكرم بالتدخل من جانبـــــــكم بدعمنا فى الوصول الى حلـــــــول مرضية لحقوق العمال بالشركة .

وتفضلوا بقبول وافر الاحترام """

رئيس النقابة العامة

سعيد الجوهرى

mostafa

14 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by mostafa on June 16, 2009

To the president of the International Labor Meeting

(Geneva )

Allow me to pass to your good self our sincere regards and warmest greetings on behalf of my self and all the members of General Trade Union Of Textile Workers Egypt.

We would like to inform your good self that we had a strike for the Workers in Tanta Oil and Cotton company this is thanks to the Egyptian Law that organize the work system after we failed to negotiate with the owner which is Saudi and his name is Abd Elelah Alkaaky to reach solutions for the workers rights in the company :

1- 1- The company stopped to pay the annual rewards that mentioned in the labor law which is 7% from the basic salary this is from 1/7/2008

2- 2- The company stopped to pay the rewards salary based on the current basic salary and it frizzed the procedures payment on salary 30/6/2004

3- 3-The company refused to increase the cost of the meal from 32 Egyptian pound to 90 Egyptian pound as the same condition of the workers in another companies in the same sector

4- 4-The company fired 9 workers 2 of them are unionists within July 2007 and October 2008

5- 5-The company refused to pay the benefits for the workers since 2006 although they have over income in their balance since 2005 until now

We would like to inform your good self the Saudi investor does not respect the laws and the international agreements meanwhile he fired some of the workers and unionists and also he acting in tough way when he informed that the workers would have strike meanwhile he stopped to pay salaries since May 2009

Although the union announce the strike since 31/5/2009 until now he refused to negotiate and he insists on his violence which is not related to the agreements and the international legislation

We hope that you will interfere to support us to find the suitable solutions for the workers rights

Wishing you all the best

Said Elgohary

President

Khawaga

14 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Khawaga on June 16, 2009

Inta masri, ya Mostafa? Inta seekin fi Masr?