The Egyptian Center legally represents the female workers of the Hannawi Tobacco Factory against their dismissal cases

On Sunday, March 31, 2024, ECESR’ lawyers attended the first sessions of Circuit 3, North Damanhur Full Court, the labor disputes for the dismissal of a number of female workers from the Hannawi Tobacco Factory, in the city of Damanhur, Beheira Governorate, under the pretext of their absence from work.

The lawyers of the Egyptian Center in Cairo and Alexandria went to Damanhur city last week to hold a series of meetings with factory workers – 29 female workers in total – to provide them with legal support and prepare files for their ongoing cases.

The crisis of the Hannawi factory’s female workers began more than 21 years ago, specifically in 2003, to demand bonuses, reject increased working hours, the factory’s plan to reduce their numbers, in addition to depriving them of childcare leave. After rejecting an agreement that undermined their rights – signed by the union committee with the employers – the management took a series of arbitrary decisions against them, including dismissing some of them and transferring others far from their residences to force them to resign, a scenario that has been repeated several times in recent years, after every judicial ruling obtained by the workers for reinstatement.

Over the years, the management has intensified its efforts to force the workers to be transferred to one of its factories in the extension of the Fourth Industrial Zone in Borg El Arab, which is more than 112 kilometers away from the city of Damanhur. Consequently, the workers requested the calculation of transportation time as part of working hours and the allocation of a travel allowance, which the management refused. The workers obtained judicial rulings stating the illegality of their transfer.

In 2021, the management decided to transfer the workers to an old warehouse as a prelude to liquidating the Damanhur factory and forcing them to resign. They decided to file a complaint with the labor office and prepare reports documenting the incident. Earlier last year, the management again decided to transfer them to its factory in Borg El Arab. However, they insisted on the judicial rulings stating the illegality of the decision. Consequently, the management dismissed all the workers in the Damanhur factory, totaling 29 female workers, claiming their absence from work.

The Egyptian Center confirms its rejection of these arbitrary actions that violate the rights of the Hannawi factory’s female workers over the years, emphasizing its continued provision of legal support to help them obtain their full legitimate rights.

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