Kraft has sacked 5 members of the board of the newly-created independent union at the former Cadbury chocolate factory in Alexandria following a protest over the non-payment of a government-decreed social allowance.
In May 2012, a union was formed under the banner of the Egyptian Democratic Labour Congress, the independent trade union federation formed in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian uprising, and 250 of the factory’s 300 workers signed up. In July, the union faced its first challenge in defending the rights of its members: Kraft refused to pay the workers a social allowance granted by presidential decree in the face of rising prices.
In protest, the workers staged a 3-day sit-in.
In retaliation, Kraft fired 5 of the union’s 9 board members, accusing them of having caused loss to the company by having instigated the protest.
Management chose to punish these 5 leaders for other reasons: to intimidate the workers and remove those who would fight for their rights and to eliminate the union
As in Tunisia [1], Kraft workers in Egypt are discovering what it means to be faced with the company’s aggressive labour relations policies. As is the case in many of its operations, Kraft has a hostile management in place, determined to limit or strip workers and their representatives of their rights.
We would ask that you urgently send a protest message to Kraft management calling for the reinstatement of 5 trade union leaders and good faith negotiations over the payment of the social allowance.
IUF
LETTER
Kraft Egypt must reinstate sacked union leaders!
Kraft has sacked 5 members of the board of the newly-created independent union at the former Cadbury chocolate factory in Alexandria following a protest over the non-payment of a government-decreed social allowance.
We would ask that you urgently send a protest message to Kraft management calling for the reinstatement of 5 trade union leaders and good faith negotiations over the payment of the social allowance.
***
Dear Mr Abaza,
I have heard of the grave injustice done to your workers and to the newly-created independent union at the Kraft Foods factory in Alexandria.
The arbitrary and punitive dismissal of 5 of the union’s board members is a direct attack on your employees’ rights and on recognized international labour relations standards.
The refusal to pay a social allowance mandated by presidential decree is a shocking example of corporate arrogance and disrespect of authority in the country in which you are operating.
I call on you to ensure that the unjustly dismissed union leaders are reinstated and that factory management engages in good faith bargaining with the union over the payment of the allowance.
Yours sincerely,
Act now! To send a message to Kraft, please click here.
http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=693