31 May, 2013While recently in Cairo, Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary visited a picket line of workers demanding their salaries which have not been paid for six months. He pledged international support.
Workers of Bahayra Company for Land Reclamation, a company employing around 4,200 workers, have not received their wages since November 2012. They have attempted all possible ways to demand their rights and the delayed wage arrears but all their efforts have so far not even led to a response from the government or company officials.
Consequently workers felt they had no alternative other than to organize sit ins and pickets to attract the attention of the wider public. They did this for several days in February at the company's Headquarters and again in front of the Council of Ministers and the Dome Palace (presidential palace) in Cairo on 29 and 30 April 2013. It was here that they were joined by Kemal Ozkan who passed on the greetings and solidarity wishes of IndustriALL and our member trade unions. He committed IndustriALL to make a formal protest and publicise the case of the workers.
Writing to Egypt's Prime Minister Dr. Hesham Qandil, IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina stated:
IndustriALL Global Union calls on you to take the necessary steps to ensure the payment of arrears to the workers of Bahayra Company for Land Reclamation, including profits and bonuses for the past two years and wage arrears since November 2012, as well as the appointment of the new Board of Directors of the Company, in accordance with Resolution 106 of the PM issued in January 2012.