Parliament's Manpower Committee on Thursday discussed the ongoing problem of Amonsito textile company workers that have been staging mass sit-ins before Cairo's parliament building for more than two weeks. Workers rejected the committee's recommendation to liquidate the company, deciding instead to continue their sit-in until they were granted early retirement bonuses worth five months' of salaries for each year they worked for the company. They also threatened to move their sit-in to the presidential palace. The committee ruled out the reinstatement of the company due to the high investment costs required. The committee agreed with Misr Bank--to which the company owes LE1 billion in debts--to pick up the company's electricity, social insurance and tax dues. However, officials from the ministries of finance, electricity and social solidarity warned that such a move would be illegal. Misr Bank President Mohamed Barakat requested permission to dispose of the company before paying out workers' early retirement bonuses. "I won't go to the courts and wait ten years to resolve this issue," he said. Hussein Megawer, senior member of the ruling National Democratic Party and head of the state-backed Egyptian Trade Union Federation, for his part, clashed with opposition MP Hamdin Sabbahi during the committee meeting when the latter requested use of early-retirement funds to reinstate the company. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
