Around 250 workers from the Mansoura-España Garments company staged a sit-in from 8am to 6pm at their factory gate on Monday, demanding the revoking of the sacking decree against trade unionist Mohssen el-Sha’er and denouncing the management’s betrayal of the agreement brokered last year.

El-Sha’er, 34, was investigated by the company management last Saturday on charges of “talking to the press.” On the following day he was banned from entering the factory by the company security, triggering a demonstration at the gate by the (largely female) work force. The protesters blocked the gate in the face of El-Sayyed Galal, one of the managers. Officials from the owning United Bank failed to show up for a scheduled meeting yesterday at the office of Nahed el-Ashri, the Labor Minister’s secretary, that included the company trade unionists and labor ministry officials.

The latest crisis is happening amid fury in the factory over the management’s betrayal of the agreement brokered last year after a two month occupation of the factory by the workers. The management only paid the workers their May Day grants and social raises for the year 2007, and stalled paying the grants and raises unpaid from 1999 to 2006. And although the bank had promised to inject money into the firm and revive the production operations, the total time spent on production orders over the past year amounted to roughly one month, according to el-Sha’er. Everyday the workers show up at the factory, and wait in vain from 8am to 3pm for production ordres, but nothing comes. The workers are also concerned as news emerged that the company was sold on the first of June of this year to MP Youssri Moughazi who has already declared that he was not responsible for paying the workers any of their overdue rights.

The sit in at the factory is expected to resume today at 8am… More updates later…