CAIRO: A strike planned by workers at the Ghazl El-Mahalla spinning factory on Monday was called off because of intimidation by security bodies and the factory’s administration, the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services (CTUWS) said in a statement.
On Sunday statements had been handed out calling for a strike at the factory, which has witnessed several major strikes in the past few years.
According to CTUWS, the company’s administration “took measures to prevent workers from exercising their legitimate right to strike.
“It sent one of the labor leaders, Faisal Laqousha, for investigation in connection with statements he made to the media which the administration alleges constitute incitement of workers to strike and compromise stability in the company.
Other labor leaders were summoned by state security investigations officers and threatened that they would be detained if they went on strike, CTWUS says.
Workers had planned to strike to demand an increase in their share of profits, an equal allowance payment of LE 150 for all workers, a minimum wage of between LE 600 and LE 800, and the return of workers transferred from the Mahalla factory to other locations as punishment for their involvement in a protest held at the factory last year.
