Employees of the Maasara phone company south of Cairo staged a demonstration Sunday in which they blocked traffic on the corniche road for 45 minutes. Protesters complain that they did not receive their full December salaries and that company management is seeking to sell its assets to a foreign investor, raising the specter of mass layoffs.
Security forces managed to push demonstrators back to company premises before surrounding the area.
Workers threatened to stage additional protests before the company’s board convenes to decide on the sale. They further point out that they are the legal owners of 10 percent of the firm’s assets, meaning that the company administration must secure their consent before taking the decision to sell.
Maasara’s mother company had previously rejected a request to sell company assets on the basis that this would violate corporate rules and regulations.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
