Ten workers of Delta Fertilizers arrested after a one-month strike

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The Egyptian security forces arrested 10 workers in Delta Fertilizers Industries on the background of a strike of the workers of the company against a claimed decision of liquidation. The ten workers include Mahmoud Sabry, the labor-elected member of the board, and 4 members of the trade-union commission and other 5 workers.”The arrests occurred from houses as it was normal that workers went back home at the end of the week to catch breath after a full month of sit-in in the company,” said Abdel Sameea Gheith, a former member of the trade-union commission. “Other workers could have been arrested but the news has not arrived yet,” Gheith added.

The labor strike in Delta Fertilizers goes back to the beginning of December, when workers knows about an official letter sent by the Engineering Authority of the Armed Froces dated back to April. The letter allowed raising the factory’s spaces in preparation for selling it. Delta Fertilizers and Chemicals Industries is a Business Sector company as the state holds 51% or more of its shares.

According to a statement of the Business Sector Ministry, a fire in an ammonia oven in April 2020 accelerated a plan to develop the units of the company in Talkha, Dakahleia. Then, the plan included the transfer of the factory’s unit from Talkha to Suez so that the current lands of the factory could be used to build residential districts for families who live in slums. The crisis was further complicated by a proposal from the governor of Dakahleia to sell the factory in case of difficulty transferring it. It is noteworthy that the factory employs 2500 workers.