After four new judicial rulings in favor of them, the number of workers, who obtained decisions to return to work in “Universal Group Co.”, increased.

In continuation of the Egyptian Center’s victories in the cases of Universal Group’s workers, the Labor Court issued rulings by rejecting lawsuits to consider the dismissal of four workers in Universal Group Co., as well as continuing their work with the payment of their complete financial dues. Thus, the number of workers, who obtained decisions to return to work in “Universal Group Co.”, has raised to 48 workers, since December 2022.

On Wednesday, February 25, 2023, the 8th Labor Circuit, South Giza issued four rulings in favor of four workers of Universal Group Co., by rejecting lawsuit of considering the dismissal order filed by the Company’s Administration against them, as well as deciding to their right to continue their work and that the Company has to pay their late financial dues completely.

Lawsuits came under No.1581 and No.1423 of 2022, No.1389 and No1329 of 2022, No.1335 and No.1387 of 2022, and No.1594 and No.1525 of 2022.

The Egyptian Center had obtained four rulings in favor of 44 workers in the Universal Group for Engineering Industries, to their right to resume their work in the Company and receive the payment of their late financial dues, as well as rejecting the Company’s lawsuits. Thus, the number of workers who obtained judicial decisions to return to their work has raised to 48 workers.

The Egyptian Center welcomes the rulings that came as part of 60 lawsuits filed by the Center in favor of the workers in which the Court’s Circuit decided to merge these rulings to other similar lawsuits. It is expected that the number of rulings in favor of the return of workers and granting them their financial dues, may be increased during the next few period. The Center stresses that these rulings are considered a major judicial triumph for their rights.

The Center praises the issuance of the rulings in favor of workers in a record time just in few months, as the Center filed these lawsuits in favor of them from the End of August to the start of September 2022. Then, the Court issued its decisions from December 27 to 29, 2022, in a much fewer time than the usual time rate in such cases. The court became certain through the attached documents and the defense of the defense team regarding the extent of injustice occurred to workers and their dire and inhumane conditions.

The rulings were decisive in acknowledging and asserting that the workers didn’t violate the Law and that the company’s accusation for them of committing a strike to disrupt the progress of work isn’t a real allegation and lacks seriousness and reason. it is worth mentioning that before filing lawsuits whether related to the Company to consider the dismissal order against workers, or the workers’ lawsuits for being subjected to injustice from a long period of time, workers knocked all possible doors before resorting to the Labor Court.

The workers had submitted complaints to the Ministry of Manpower which, in turn, sponsored a deal between the Company and workers to schedule the payment of their financial dues. Moreover, they submitted complaints to the Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives, and Prime Ministry, together with their complaints to the Manpower Office of Directorate of Manpower and Immigration – Giza.

During the past months, the legal defense team of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights received 60 complaints of arbitrary dismissal from the workers of Universal Group Co., at the time when the Company’s Administration violated the previously ratified collective labor agreements between it and the workers’ representatives, and in the presence of the Ministry of Manpower representatives.

The Center’s lawyers were surprised that the Company’s legal representative submitted requests to the Labor Court to dismiss the workers, in a new episode of manipulation of the fate of these workers, together with putting them under the pressure of displacement and deprivation of wages, in light of the absence of any tangible role from the responsible authorities of the Ministry of Manpower and Immigration.

The workers suffer from the deterioration in the salary and wages system that led to stopping the production in the Company’s factories, as well as the Administration’s manipulation in the workers’ wages which led to bad living and material conditions, which, in turn, resulted in one worker’s attempt to commit a suicide in last February, in addition to other crises.

The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) indicates that not only wage manipulation is the crisis that workers face, but also they face the crisis of lacking some occupational safety and health factors in workplaces, which led to their infection with cirrhosis and kidney disease, as well as limb injuries that led to amputate them.