The Egyptian Center announces free legal support to workers at ‘Starbucks Egypt’ following reports of laying-off some of them… “A collective punishment for the public stance supporting the boycott”
The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) condemns media reports about the layoffs of employees at Starbucks Egypt, citing the recent impact of the boycott campaign on its sales due to the parent company’s support for Israeli occupation and the genocidal crimes committed in Gaza.
According to “Cairo 24” website, Starbucks management informed employees of layoffs due to a significant decline in sales attributed to the boycott. The company is currently facing a crisis in expense management as its sales, along with other brands supporting the occupation, have witnessed a massive decline.
The Egyptian Center asserts that the layoffs at Starbucks Egypt constitute an additional crime, adding to the wrongdoing of the company’s support for the Israeli occupation in its aggression on Gaza, and the Palestinian people in general. This necessitates an urgent investigation into these events, as well as strengthening measures to protect workers’ rights against such practices, given their dire and inhumane circumstances, especially amidst the economic challenges.
The center announces its readiness to provide free legal support to the Egyptian workforce at Starbucks to secure their full rights, emphasizing the necessity of halting any arbitrary and unlawful actions taken against them.
It also confirms that these layoffs contravene the Egyptian Labor Law No. 12 of 2003, specifically in Articles 96 to 2001. According to these articles, if an employer wishes to reduce the workforce for economic reasons, they must submit a request to close or downsize the establishment or its activities to a committee formed for this purpose. The request must include the reasons for the decision and the numbers and categories of workers to be laid off. Article No.254 imposes penalties on the employer or their representative for violating the provisions of Article No.196 of this law, with a fine of no less than one thousand pounds and not exceeding two thousand pounds. The fines multiply based on the number of workers involved, and the penalty increases in case of recurrence.
The center calls for labor offices to urgently investigate the reported incidents in their respective areas, where there are rumors of layoffs in support of the legitimate and genuine rights of workers. It emphasizes that not following proper procedures for employee layoffs due to economic reasons implies the absence of justified losses and is a form of pressure on the Egyptian people, punishing its workforce for their stance in boycotting certain brands that support the Israeli occupation.
