A military court on 29 June handed down one year suspended sentences to five workers who had been sacked by the Egyptian oil company Petrojet.
The sentencing marked the first enforcement of Law 34/2011, announced by the military in March, which criminalizes protests and strikes that hinder production in any workplace.
Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the Egyptian Center for Trade Union and Workers Services, an umbrella organization supporting independent unions, strongly condemned the law.
“This law is corrupt and exposes contradictory actions by both the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the government,” said Abbas. “While they show unexplained procrastination in trying figures of the old regime, they hurry to try the poor workers who ask for a better living.”
The workers were protesting because Petrojet refused to rehire them, claiming their temporary contracts had ended, though some had been working there for 10 years. They also accused the company of defying the oil minister’s decision to permanently hire all temporary workers. Full report here
A military court on 29 June handed down one year suspended sentences to five workers who had been sacked by the Egyptian oil company Petrojet.
The sentencing marked the first enforcement of Law 34/2011, announced by the military in March, which criminalizes protests and strikes that hinder production in any workplace.
Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the Egyptian Center for Trade Union and Workers Services, an umbrella organization supporting independent unions, strongly condemned the law.
“This law is corrupt and exposes contradictory actions by both the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the government,” said Abbas. “While they show unexplained procrastination in trying figures of the old regime, they hurry to try the poor workers who ask for a better living.”
The workers were protesting because Petrojet refused to rehire them, claiming their temporary contracts had ended, though some had been working there for 10 years. They also accused the company of defying the oil minister’s decision to permanently hire all temporary workers. Full report here
