Egypt Crystal Asfour workers reject labour agreement

A strike at the Crystal Asfour factories in north Cairo's Shubra entered its eleventh day on Thursday, after workers rejected an agreement with Egypt's manpower ministry.


Workers say the agreement does not respond to their main demands, which include permanent contracts for temporary workers, a wage increase, and the reinstatement of sacked workers.

"They responded to other demands, but not the main ones. The ministry has guaranteed that no worker will be sacked until the end of December, but what will happen after that?" asked Hussein Zaki, a worker at Crystal Asfour.

Egyptian media gave contradictory reports about the strike on Wednesday, with some saying that the workers had accepted the agreement and ended their protest.

According to officials at the manpower ministry, the workers' representatives have signed the agreement.

"Only two of the workers' representatives did not sign, saying that they had to consult with their colleagues first. However, I believe the agreement offers many advantages, save the issue of end-of-service compensation," said Abdel-Khaleq Farouk, an advisor to the manpower minister.

"We signed what we believed was the meeting minutes, however we stated that we could not sign the agreement because it does not respond to the main demands," Zaki countered.