Workers of the Spinning and Weaving Factory in Mahalla closed the factory and threatened to escalate their strike to a sit-in until the government meets their demands.
Kamal al-Fayoumy, a worker, said the company did not pay the workers their incentives. “We believe that the company has huge potential and can make profits, but the administration is deliberately incurring losses,” he said.
He said the Minister of Agriculture canceled cotton subsidies, which forced farmers to cultivate other crops. “We lost confidence in the government,” he said. “A year passed since the Prime Minister promised to develop the company and meet our demands.”
“Corruption within the company can no longer be tolerated,” he said, calling on President Sisi to assign a committee to investigate this matter.
Some of the workers were in favor of ending the strike, as the company president sent a fax agreeing to hold a general assembly on 27 January and pay the incentives, provided they go back to work first.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
