A workers union has decried the decision by a major textile exporting firm to dismiss one of its workers for urging his colleagues to attend a labour rights course.
On its facebook page, the Center for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS), an independent labour rights organization, said Nile Linen Group, a Alexandria-based major textile manufacturer, dismissed Mohamed Hassan Abul Yazid after he urged colleagues to attend a training course on labour rights organized by the International Labour Organization.
CTUWS added that the company had suspended Abul Yazid and four of his colleagues last November, accusing him of “gathering workers for external activities that would cause damage to the facility”, as the company’s investigation had put it.
CTUWS quoted Abul Yazid as denying the company’s claim that he had been warned twice before his dismissal, stressing that his performance evaluations for his 14 years in service had all been positive.
CTUWS, voicing solidarity with the expelled worker, who headed an independent union of company workers in the past, said his dismissal violated the law which requires the employee to be notified in advance before his removal.
The center accused the company of trying to “settle old accounts” with Abul Yazid for defending his colleagues’ rights.
Established in 1996, Nile Linen Group claims to be Egypt’s largest exporter of Bed Linen and Table Linen with a 65% share of market exports.
