\n
The North Giza Misdemeanor Court (Labor Division) decided, on February 23, 2026, to adjourn the trial of the legal representative of Al-Bawaba News in connection with charges of failing to implement the legally mandated minimum wage for the newspaper\u2019s employees, in Misdemeanor Case No. 133 of 2026, to the hearing scheduled for March 9, 2026.<\/p>\n
The court had administratively postponed the hearing on February 23 due to an error in the transfer of a set of case files to the session clerk. A lawyer representing the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) clarified that such procedural errors are relatively common in the course of court proceedings and that the incident does not indicate any intention to obstruct or deliberately delay the case.<\/p>\n
The Dokki Labor Office had previously referred a complaint filed by 275 employees of Al-Bawaba News to criminal prosecution after determining that the company\u2019s management had committed a violation by failing to implement the National Wages Council\u2019s Decision No. 15 of 2025, which sets the minimum wage. This failure constitutes a violation of Article 104 of Law No. 14 of 2025, as the establishment did not apply the legally mandated minimum wage to its employees.<\/p>\n
\n
The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights has undertaken full legal representation of a number of affected journalists at Al-Bawaba News, initiating the necessary judicial and administrative proceedings to safeguard their financial and employment rights against the management of the institution.<\/p>\n
This followed a meeting between the Center\u2019s lawyers and a group of journalists to examine possible legal avenues for defense, after the journalists had submitted collective formal complaints to the Dokki Labor Office. The complaints documented incidents of administrative harassment and obstruction of their ability to perform their work, followed by arbitrary dismissal measures and the withholding of salaries, in clear violation of the provisions of the Egyptian Labor Law and the constitutional guarantees protecting workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n
The dispute dates back to the last quarter of 2025, when the management began taking retaliatory and coercive measures in response to journalists\u2019 demands for the implementation of the minimum wage. Approximately 70 journalists staged a sit-in at the newspaper\u2019s headquarters on Mossadak Street, which lasted for 56 days. During this period, participants reported that basic services at the premises were cut off. The situation culminated in the forcible dispersal of the sit-in on the evening of Sunday, January 5, 2026, which compelled the journalists to relocate their protest to the headquarters of the Journalists\u2019 Syndicate.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the management reportedly escalated its actions against the journalists by withholding their salaries since November 2025 and filing criminal complaints accusing several of them of \u201cparticipating in an unauthorized protest.\u201d These complaints also targeted Journalists\u2019 Syndicate board members Iman Auf and Mahmoud Kamel, following the Syndicate Council\u2019s public support\u2014under the leadership of Khaled El-Balshy\u2014for the journalists\u2019 demands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The North Giza Misdemeanor Court (Labor Division) decided, on February 23, 2026, to adjourn the trial of the legal representative of Al-Bawaba News in connection with charges of failing to implement the legally mandated minimum wage for the newspaper\u2019s employees, in Misdemeanor Case No. 133 of 2026, to the hearing scheduled for March 9, 2026. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":809045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[562],"tags":[],"coauthors":[936],"class_list":["post-809134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n