The management of Eastern Company (Eastern Tobacco Company) issued decisions to arbitrarily dismiss 6 workers and impose punitive measures on 18 other employees, amid allegations that workers and members of the General Assembly were being pressured to approve a company sale offer worth 5 billion pounds, while estimates indicate that the actual value of the company is no less than 15 billion pounds.
Workers confirmed that the dismissals came as a reaction to their refusal to vote in favor of the sole bid submitted by “EFG Hermes” on behalf of one of its clients to purchase all shares owned by the union of worker-shareholders in the company. They rejected the offer, considering it lacking transparency and below the fair market value of the company, which contradicts the President’s decree and the Capital Market Authority’s Decision No. 301 of 2025 regarding the conditions for delisting companies and conducting fair valuation studies.
Workers also pointed out that the October Insurance Office, District 11, under the National Insurance Authority, closed their insurance files despite the fact that they did not sign Form 6 and no court rulings were issued against them, raising doubts about the authenticity of the documents used to close the files and the possibility of forgery or abuse of power in preparing them.
Sources within the workers indicated that attempts to close their insurance files began as early as April 29, but were previously rejected by the insurance office due to lack of legal compliance. They added that they were not informed of the closure until after it had occurred, noting that this constitutes a blatant violation of their legitimate rights.
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) expresses firm rejection of the arbitrary decisions taken against workers at Eastern Tobacco Company, including the dismissal of six workers and the imposition of penalties on 18 others. The committee considers these actions part of a systematic campaign to suppress dissent and exert pressure on workers to approve a sale deal significantly below the company’s real value.
The CFJ calls on the relevant authorities to immediately reinstate the dismissed workers and halt all punitive disciplinary measures taken against the remaining workers, affirming that such decisions constitute a flagrant violation of labor and trade union rights. The committee urges the Ministry of Labor to intervene to safeguard the rights of the affected workers.
