The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented abusive measures taken by the management of Eastern Tobacco Company against a number of worker-shareholders, following their objection to a share purchase offer submitted by “EFG Hermes – for Securities Underwriting and Distribution,” on behalf of an unidentified investor, which workers believe was priced below the actual value of the shares.
The measures — revealed by two workers who were banned from entering the company and a member of the board of directors of the Worker-Shareholders Union, who requested anonymity — include the prohibition of six workers from accessing the company’s premises since last week, as well as depriving 19 other workers of their financial incentive for six months.
One of the workers confirmed that he was prevented from boarding the bus allocated for transporting employees to the factory, based on oral instructions issued by the Department of Employee Transportation Affairs, which directly reports to the company’s Board of Directors.
The worker said that the supervisor in charge of transportation informed him that the decision was executed upon orders from the Board of Directors, without providing any official or written explanation regarding the reasons for the ban. He also pointed out that his colleagues who were banned had not received any written notice or summons for investigation either.
The extraordinary general assembly meeting of the Worker-Shareholders Union took place on February 21, where workers rejected voting on the sale offer and protested the absence of a fair valuation mechanism for the shares, leading to the cancellation of the meeting and the expiration of the EFG Hermes bid on February 28.
Several workers who later underwent investigations reported that management referred 25 employees to disciplinary inquiries, accusing them of causing chaos and damage during the meeting. They added that management later offered to drop the investigations in exchange for their commitment not to attend future meetings or contact regulatory bodies such as the Financial Regulatory Authority regarding alleged violations related to the deal.
For its part, the CFJ strongly condemns the abusive actions taken by the management of Eastern Tobacco Company against worker-shareholders, considering them a blatant violation of workers’ rights and principles of governance and social justice. The committee calls for an immediate halt to these measures, the reinstatement of all banned workers to their positions within the company without restrictions or conditions, and the full payment of financial entitlements to all workers without discrimination or exception.
The CFJ also urges the relevant regulatory authorities — led by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority — to intervene urgently to investigate the financial processes related to the share subscription and sale deal, ensuring transparency and legal compliance, especially in light of widespread criticism concerning the valuation method and the concealment of the real investor’s identity, which jeopardizes workers’ financial rights.
The CFJ emphasizes that the continuation of these measures threatens internal stability within the company and undermines workers’ trust in management and ongoing financial procedures. The committee calls on the Egyptian Ministry of Labor to intervene to protect workers’ rights and ensure the application of transparency and equality principles in dealing with all shareholders, in accordance with national laws and international labor and ownership standards.
