Egyptian security forces have arrested nine Kiriazi workers on the background of their participation in a protest to demand an amendment to the wage structure within the large company.

Sources have said that the Public Prosecution decided to detain the workers for 15 days after accusing them of demonstrating without a permit and calling for a strike.

The company’s workers had organized a demonstration in front of the main gate to protest against their low salaries, expressing their dissatisfaction with the administration’s neglect of their demands for a periodic wage increase commensurate with the high inflation rates. Dozens of labour protests broke out in factories and companies in Egypt recently after the local currency devaluation led to an unprecedented rise in inflation. The Center for Trade Union and Workers Services has said it was in solidarity with the workers. Its general coordinator, Kamal Abbas, said the protest coincided with similar demonstrations by other company workers, including Leoni AG and Oriental Weavers. Abbas expected the protests to escalate in light of the high prices and the lack of action by the Ministry of Manpower.