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EGYPT: Agitating textile workers in no mood to relent

MAHALLA EL-KUBRA: The strike by 27,000 employees of the state owned Misr Spinning and Weaving mills in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla el-Kubra entered its second day today. Seven thousand workers controlled one of Egypt's biggest textile mills on Monday. On the first day itself the company has lost 10 million pounds.

Workers alleged that the organizers have provoked them to go on strike as their demands are not considered. Five of the organizers visited the public prosecutor's office and explained the reason of the strike. According to them, the workers are demanding higher wages, more benefits, a large share of the profits and the release of their five colleagues.

Several workers said they took home about 150 Egyptian pounds a month which is not enough for them to eat and send their children to school. It is time the President (Hosni Mubarak) intervenes and finds a solution.

Workers beat drums and chanted slogans against the management of the government holding company. Workers said representatives of the government-approved union came to visit but the workers drove them away.

The strike is one of the biggest in a long series over the past year in Egypt.
In many cases managers have met most of the demands of the workers within days or at the most a few weeks. In April the government closed down the headquarters of a group which gives advice to workers and unofficial unions.

The Egyptian economy has been growing at about 7 percent a year for the past 18 months but inflation, at more than 8 percent for the past year, has eroded much of the value of any wage increases they have received.

Workers at Misr Spinning and Weaving were promised last year that they would receive annual bonuses equivalent to 45 days' wages. The company failed to fulfill its promise and the workers are now demanding the equivalent of 12 months' basic pay as their share of the 2006/7 profits.

Source: Agencies • News Courtesy: BharatTextile.com