26 workers of the National Steel industries company, belonging to the Orascom group, will appear before the State Security Court on 30 September. After a strike last May, workers are accused of disrupting production, violating freedom of work and blocking the company’s work.
Last May, the Orascom group tried to force 250 workers to sign an official document stating that they were giving up all their financial rights before returning to work. 50 of these workers refused to sign the document in question and went on strike to demand their compensation.
Strikers had stood still in front of the company. The latter filed a complaint against them on the basis of Law 34 of the year 2011; a law that has a prison sentence and a fine of up to 50,000 pounds against the accused.
According to the "Arabi 21" website, the workers' lawyer declared that the company, which belongs to the Sawiris family, took advantage of its relations with the Egyptian government to accuse members of the Muslim Brotherhood of inciting workers to strike by granting them passes on one of the television channels opposing the regime.
For years, Egypt has been classified as one of the "dangerous" countries for trade union and labor freedoms, which translates into its continued presence in the Arab Labor Organization's short list of countries violating trade union freedoms.
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