Approximately 600 workers in the Ceramica Varsina company halted their five-day strike following a decision taken by the management to compensate them for late bonuses and profit shares, the workers said on Monday.
The workers protested overdue profit shares from 2014 and 2015, and demanded “compensation for the price hikes”.
The management said that it will issue EGP 800 to each worker as annual profits, in addition to another EGP 300 as compensation for late bonuses. However the company said that further negotiations will be held to determine the annual raise for each worker’s salary.
One of the workers who participated in the strike told Daily News Egypt that the strike was successful although not all demands were met. He added: “the main success was that all sectors of the labour force participated in the movement.”
He elaborated that during the strike the management tried to harass them by filing reports against them in the police station and accusing them of sabotage, or by sending thugs to attack and intimidate them.
The worker explained that a group of them went to the police station to file a report proving that the factory was not harmed, another group organised shifts to guard the factory and the machines, while the factory security stood up against the thugs.
The workers documented the promises they received from the company in the presence of their lawyers, to pressure the management to abide by them.
The Revolutionary Socialist movement described the strike as successful on Sunday, saying: “A state of panic roams over owners of ceramic factories, fearing the wave may reach them.”
The movement added: “the ceramics business is known to be profiteering, while its labourers are working in harsh conditions.”
After the hike in the US dollar price, the cost of building materials has been increasing.
