Tanta flax workers accuse factory admin of arson
Posted by bikyamasr on 06/07/2009
This is written by one of Bikya Masr’s own, Manar Ammar. Great update and background on the ongoing strike. This was reported from Tanta, despite the editors’ error on the dateline. -BM
Tanta flax workers accuse factory admin of arson
Workers currently on strike at the Tanta Flax and Oil Company have accused the factory’s administration of having a hand in the fire that blazed on Thursday afternoon inside the factory where the sit-in is taking place.
“The workers consider the company their home [and] no one would think of vandalizing it,” Safwat Michel, who acts as spokesperson for the workers, told Daily News Egypt. “When the factory was first built in 1944, there were only three, now there are 10 factories. We, the workers, have built the rest. How could we harm our home?”
The fire sprouted in an area of 2.5 acres towards the end of the factory, near extremely flammable materials. “The fire was surely deliberate as the stakes were burned from the top in various areas,” Michel added.
The fire blazed between around 1 pm and 2 pm and was finally put out by 10 fire trucks. Unlike other reports, Michel confirmed that no one was injured as a result.
The incident highlights the ongoing struggle facing the workers who entered their second month of the sit-in at the company. This is not the first time they have gone on strike, however. Once a year since 2005, the workers have held short demonstrations. But things are changing.
