CAIRO: Forty-nine labor protests have been recorded in Egypt in July 2010 alone, according to the monthly report by the Children of the Earth Center for Human Rights.
The protests include sit-ins, strikes and demonstrations, which, the report says, shows the “escalating frustrations” of workers and employees in the country.
In total, 14 sit-ins, 14 strikes and 21 demonstrations took place in different governorates around the country that month.
The report also says that more than 4,800 people were fired from their jobs in July alone.
The most publicized of these is the strike of the Canal Company for Ports workers in Ismailia which was held to protest the procrastination of the administration in appointing the workers on permanent basis, says the report.
A strike by 124 temporary workers at Zefta Textiles Factory was in protest of the administration’s decision to fire them, despite having worked there for 10 years.
Protestors at the Suez Canal University Hospital rose up against a decision to cancel June bonuses and incentives.
Another one of the bigger protests was by 250 workers and engineers at a road building project in the governorate of Minya, who were angered by late salaries and the fact that they hadn’t received any bonuses or incentives for four months in a row.
Furthermore, due to the poor work environment along with the absence of industrial safety measures, 16 workers lost their lives and four others were injured on the job that month, says the report.
Seven workers committed suicide as a result of pressure from family obligations and “loss of hope,” adds the report.
