Press release
Geneva – February 4, 2024
In a late January demonstration at the “Pharaohs” Ceramic Company in Fayoum Governorate’s industrial area of Kom Oshim, employees rallied for an increase in salaries and the prompt implementation of the Egyptian government’s recently sanctioned minimum wage hike for private sector workers.
Workers took a decisive stance by preventing the company owner from leaving the headquarters. They expressed discontent over the refusal to elevate their salaries to meet the government-approved minimum of EGP 3,500, scheduled to take effect at the beginning of the year. Rejecting the owner’s proposition to increase periodic allowances only, the employees detained him in one of the company’s rooms.
The impasse prompted Fayoum Governor Ahmed Al-Ansari to negotiate with the company owner to forge a resolution. Amid the workers’ unwavering insistence on their demands, the governor’s intervention successfully brokered a solution, defusing the crisis and allowing for ongoing discussions between the workforce and company leadership.
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) affirms its solidarity with the demands of the employees of the “Pharaohs” Ceramic Company, calling on the company’s management to implement the Egyptian government’s decision to raise the minimum wage for workers in the private sector.
