Standing in Solidarity with “Lord International” Workers in Their Demands: Against Displacement and Arbitrary Dismissal

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

While the regime head talks about lifting bread subsidies, adding more burdens to the daily lives of most Egyptians, the workers of Lord International in Amreya, Alexandria, face threats, displacement, and arbitrary dismissal for demanding rights that are, in reality, less than what would ensure them a dignified life.

Recently, we observed the decision by Lord International’s management to dismiss 38 workers and refer at least five others for investigation following their strike to protest the deduction of the 300 EGP occasion bonus from their July wages, along with other demands.

The management did not stop at dismissal and referrals for investigation but did everything possible to tighten the noose on the striking workers, including cutting off water and electricity, closing the canteen, and preventing company transportation from taking workers to their workplace. This is just a model of what employers in Egypt do when their workers raise their voices to demand their rights.
The management also refused to hold a negotiation session on the workers’ demands, which included:
• Adjusting wages not to be less than 2400 EGP (the minimum wage set by the state), as the average salary for workers employed for ten years is about 2000 EGP only.
• They are regularizing temporary workers and converting annual contracts to permanent contracts, as temporary workers constitute the majority of the workforce, with some having worked for ten years or more under temporary contracts without being regularized!
• We are distributing annual profits collectively rather than every month.
• I am increasing shift allowances, which are currently 5 EGP for the morning shift and 10 EGP for the night shift.
This is not an exceptional case of cracking down on workers seeking stolen rights. It is a pattern followed by private sector companies against workers, involving threats, arbitrary dismissal, imprisonment, and fabricated charges. All this happens before the eyes and ears of the state, which even colludes in these actions.

In recent months, we have witnessed similar cases, including the persecution and imprisonment of several insurance company workers on terrorism charges for opposing Law 203 concerning public business sector companies, which strips them of their rights. We also saw the sentencing of 26 workers from the National Iron Industries Company, including six unionists, to one year in prison and a fine of 30,000 EGP following a company complaint accusing them of inciting strikes and disobeying work orders and managers’ instructions.

We stand against the policy of arbitrary dismissal as a punishment for workers demanding their rights in all sectors.