Egyptian textile workers end strike

Thousands of workers staged a six-day sit in at the factory, which employs 27,000 people and exports textiles all over the world.

 

Factory managers said the strike cost them millions of dollars a day.

 

The strikers had demanded better working conditions, increased benefits and higher wages, with some receiving as little as $44 a month.

 

 

Under the new agreement, the workers are to receive an additional 70 days of wages, while the firm’s general assembly will meet to set additional payments so that the total bonus is at least 130 days.

 

The strike, the second at that factory in less than a year, came amid a wave of labour unrest in the country as workers demand better benefits and express fear over plans to privatise state-owned businesses.

 

In many cases, government officials have agreed to workers’ demands.

 

The strike came as the government statistics bureau warned recently that the price of basic food stuffs has risen by 48 per cent in the past year.