Around 400 workers from the Tanta Flax and Oils Company staged an open-ended sit-in Monday in front of the Egyptian Council of Ministers' Cairo headquarters amid a heavy security presence. Workers claimed they had not been paid their salaries by Abdel Elah el-Kahki, the Saudi investor who in 2005 took over the formerly state-owned company. According to protesters, el-Kahki sacked their trade union representatives before closing down the company. Frustrated workers also accused the government holding company of having sold off its affiliate without guaranteeing workers' rights, holding Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohi Eddin responsible for violations practiced by foreign investors that had purchased Egyptian companies. They further said that the Manpower Ministry had refused to pay them their salaries out of an emergency fund specifically established for such cases, calling on Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to return ownership of the linen company to the public. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
