CAIRO: Aboul Seba' workers have resumed their sit-in after company owners reneged on a promise to pay outstanding salaries and make a decision about workers' futures. The textile workers began a sit-in over unpaid wages on Sept. 18 that they called off on Sept. 25 after receiving promises that a decision about their future with the company would be made on Oct. 5 and that workers would receive their financial entitlements. According to the Tadamon (Solidarity) website, which reports on labor protests, workers reported seeing machines inside the factory being broken up and removed on Sept. 28, prompting them to surround the factory in an attempt to prevent the removal of the machines. They ended the protest after again being promised that their grievances would be addressed on Tuesday. Workers were reportedly told on Tuesday that they would be paid on Saturday — prompting them to resume a sit-in inside the factory. “Aboul Seba' workers' problems have been ongoing for more than two years, yet the government has not taken any action against the company owner who has laid off more than 2,500 workers — about half of whom are women,” Tadamon said in a statement issued on Tuesday, in which it questioned why legal measures have not been brought against the company owners.
