Activists in Egypt have issued an urgent appeal in solidarity with Hisham al-Banna, a worker from the Samanoud textile factory who is facing dismissal from work following a month-long strike demanding the minimum wage. The workers in the factory have been fighting to win better pay after years of battles with the company bosses over frequent layoffs and mismanagement. They have faced severe repression including being arrested by police and suspension from work. Nine of the previously suspended workers have returned to their jobs after strikers refused to go back to work until management agreed to lift the suspensions. The solidarity committee supporting the strikers is calling for international trade union support.
What you can do:
- Sign and share the statement below
Statement in solidarity with Hisham al-Banna
In the first session of the labor court, the Samanoud Weaving Company requests the dismissal of labor leader Hisham El-Banna instead of suspending him from work. In yesterday’s session, September 25, the court decided to postpone the hearing of the case to the upcoming October 16.
The undersigned call for the immediate reinstatement of the prominent trade unionist at Samanoud Textile Company, Hisham El-Banna, and an end to the administrative stubbornness against him, especially after the return of his nine colleagues who were also suspended. This comes after the Public Prosecution administratively closed case number 7648 of 2024, Samanoud Administrative Center, in which El-Banna and his nine colleagues were accused, making the continuation of his suspension a clear violation of the law.
On September 25, 2024, the labor court in El-Mahalla postponed the hearing of case number 292 of 2024, filed by the company’s management to suspend El-Banna on charges of striking, inciting work disruption, and causing financial losses. The company has been paying him half of his basic salary while the case remains unresolved, a result of the 35-day strike organized by the company’s workers on August 17, demanding the enforcement of the President’s decision to raise the minimum wage to 6,000 Egyptian pounds.
Security forces had earlier arrested eight workers, including El-Banna, who was taken from his home blindfolded and handcuffed in front of his family. His release was delayed for several days, unlike his seven colleagues.
After his release, security forces summoned him again and threatened to imprison him once more if the strike didn’t end.
The undersigned also condemn the silence of the Ministry of Planning and its minister, who oversees the National Investment Bank, the company’s largest shareholder, regarding the actions of the company’s management and its disregard for the workers’ demand to raise the minimum wage. The minister, who is also a member of the National Council for Wages, has ignored these issues. The signatories emphasize the need to investigate the allegations of corruption surrounding the current management.
They urge the authorities and business leaders to stop using imprisonment and dismissal as weapons against those who fight for their rights. They reaffirm the right of Samanoud’s workers, like all workers in Egypt, to strike for their financial rights, especially the implementation of the presidential decree to raise the minimum wage, and to end practices that deliberately drive companies into financial losses as a step toward liquidation.
Support Committee for Samanoud Workers
September 23, 2024
MENA Solidarity Network 
Germany has just fed Sisi with Billions of €uros so he is cheak now. I suggst to extend strike on Suez Canal so he feels workers power. Me sympathy is with you and for a long time with Mahalla a stronghold of worker power.