03-09-2012

Kraft has sacked 5 members of the board of the newly-created independent union at the former Cadbury chocolate factory in Alexandria following a protest over the non-payment of a government-decreed social allowance.

In May 2012, a union was formed under the banner of the Egyptian Democratic Labour Congress, the independent trade union federation formed in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian uprising, and 250 of the factory's 300 workers signed up. In July, the union faced its first challenge in defending the rights of its members: Kraft refused to pay the workers a social allowance granted by presidential decree in the face of rising prices.

In protest, the workers staged a 3-day sit-in.

In retaliation, Kraft fired 5 of the union's 9 board members, accusing them of having caused loss to the company by having instigated the protest.

Management chose to punish these 5 leaders for other reasons: to intimidate the workers and remove those who would fight for their rights and to eliminate the union

As in Tunisia, Kraft workers in Egypt are discovering what it means to be faced with the company's aggressive labour relations policies. As is the case in many of its operations, Kraft has a hostile management in place, determined to limit or strip workers and their representatives of their rights.

We would ask that you urgently send a protest message to Kraft management calling for the reinstatement of 5 trade union leaders and good faith negotiations over the payment of the social allowance.