22 years.
How much do you think they're paying me?
Abdul Latif, worker, Bticino-Legrand Co.
Take a guess. How much do you think, after 22 years?
927 Pounds. (115 Euro)
22 years of service, in this factory.
If you have daughters or sons in college, how can you support them?
I mean - you either steal... or you beg!
Bticino-Legrand - Workers who love Egypt. Demand: Hold corrupt management accountable.
Fixed contracts for temporary labor.
Minimum wage - A share in profits - A dignified life for every worker.
Save us from administrative and financial corruption.
The workers have so and so demands,
They tried going to a meeting in Cairo with management, and came back completely hopeless.
So we held a sit-in,
Those on daily contracts went to work, one shift operated,
while the other two shifts stood outside, waiting for their demands to be fulfilled.
They were given nothing... take it or leave it.
After those three days, we went on a full strike.
Daily and shift workers, eating, sleeping and living in the factory.
We work and persevere, demanding our rights, but no one's listening or responding.
They cut off the power supply in the labor office here.
Ms. Hanan, the director of the labor office, was here,
The power got cut off while she was here, and she testified to this in a report we have.
So the work stoppage occurred due to the management, not the workers.
We were working, and they went and cut the electricity, stopped the machines,
And announced there would be no work
that the next two days would be off, 'till they could deal with this problem.
And of course the workers couldn't trust this.
The workers had no guarantee that the management would respond during the days off,
so they stayed in the factory. And we've been here for 36 days.
In the beginning we had one demand:
For them to adjust shift allowances, for those who are shift workers.
So of course, they declined.
After their refusal, and our sit-in, Alexander, the foreigner, came and met with us here.
He brought us 2 pounds.
One guy pulled out a 1 pound coin and showed it to him:
"What are we supposed to do with 2 pounds?"
Night, day, morning, afternoon, dawn... we're awake.
We can't sleep, by day or by night.
Unable to eat or drink. And all this comes around and reflects negatively on us.
We're working all night, when I leave the factory in the morning - I'm completely disoriented.
Don't know where I'm going.
I forget my kids' names.
They are three, not ten, and I confuse their names - because of being up all night.
And they, the company, they're not giving us any rights,
And based on what? Based on the law that's in effect.
Who put that law in place?! Isn't it the oppressors?
It's the law of the oppressors that's in place.
An apartment in Sadat city rents at 350 pounds.
A studio apartment - one room, one reception - rents at 350 pounds.
So out of 700 pounds, what does that leave? 350 pounds.
No household can possibly be supported with 350 pounds. No one can live on that.
This factory we're in, we've got no rights as workers. They treat us like we're slaves.
In everything. Even medical insurance, the most basic thing,
Do you go for a check-up in rebellion or because of illness? Illness.
There's no medical insurace. There's nothing.
One would wish there was any change after the revolution.
We conquered a corrupt system in the government - we need to conquer the same system in the factory.
This situation we're in is due to the management.
Our primary demand now, even before the material ones,
is for the corrupt management to be held to account.
They fired a lot of people, because of this sit-in.
We're here to demand our rights, and those of our colleagues.
We are all united. If anyone is subjected to harm, we'll sit-in again.
We want anyone who comes to work here to feel secure.
Any young person who comes to work here should not find themselves fired after six months.
We want a law to protect against this precarity.
I work here on a six month contract,
meaning after six months they can hand me my papers and tell me to leave.
Last year, we reached an agreement between the syndicate committee and the management,
That any temp worker, after 18 months, has the right to a fixed and open contract.
They fired me and 85 other youths like myself one day before we'd hit the 18-month mark.
They took me to the labor office. I had two options,
I either take my paperwork and leave, or sign a waiver of the 18-month deal they'd reached.
I work eight hours a day, plus two in the morning on my way here,
and another two on my way home in the evening.
We work six days a week, one day off.
I earn 600 pounds.
600 pounds... I'm scared to get engaged, and find myself fired the next day. I'd be destroyed.
It's very difficult to find another job elsewhere.
The company said that once they were qualified by ISO, everyone would be better off.
Just to focus on securing their customers and production.
What about workers? - Just wait till we get the ISO, they said.
Then they got the ISO, and so great, they have a certified product now.
But labor isn't certified! Working in this factory, is not certified.
After this, what will we turn to? Thuggery, robbery, murder... everything!
I need to eat. I need a dignified livelihood, me and my kids
- so if my son falls ill, I can take him to a doctor.
These laws were in place to serve businessmen only,
The parliament was entirely made up of businessmen.
Any law that was passed was in favor of businessmen.
The private sector has turned into feudalism. A purely feudal system.
A person works for a daily wage, barely covering breakfast, lunch and dinner.
If I'm a government employee and I work from 8 am till 2 pm,
And they paid me this salary, I'd live fine.
But the worker in the private sector works all day and goes home at night,
or works all night and goes home in the morning. There's no other time - the work day is continous,
10 hours, 2 hours transportation and 8 hours of work.
And these 8 hours of work are physically exhausting... suicidal.
They drain your blood before paying you at the end of the month.
I demand that the government amend these laws that were placed to serve investors,
Investors who were attracted to Egypt because of its security, and really wanted to invest,
knowing that they'd have access to cheap labor, distribution and a wealth of resources,
And that its geographical location is strategically centered amidst all the world's countries.
This is why they come and invest here.
They sell them land at extremely low prices,
And they give them all the possible warrants and benefits in customs and taxes,
So that they'll invest, and create jobs.
So since they give the investors all these benefits, they should pay us a decent wage!
So that we can raise our children and live a dignified life.
After Egypt's revolution, there's no going back,
no one is going to be afraid of expressing themselves - anywhere.
Everyone will express themselves honestly and freely, and no one can intimidate them.
After the downfall of the previous regime, which was oppressing people,
Everyone is now out saying no to oppression.
We are thankful to all those people who brought about the Egyptian revolution in the first place,
And gave us the opportunity to speak. We were unable to say anything before.
We lived with the fear of state security kidnapping anyone who dissented.
Today we can raise our demands, without the fear of being charged.
We demand that the parliament enforce laws for the protection of the people,
Through government by the people.
As well as the enforcement of laws in order to hold the coming government accountable,
to protect the people from the power of the government itself.
We've been robbed of everything - everything!
Our dignity, our livelihoods... All we're asking for is - we want to be able to survive!
We want nothing more than to be able to eat! Where are we - where are the workers...
Our rights are stolen. They were stolen decades ago.
Ever since the beginning of the oppressive regime.
All we want is to be able to live - just like everyone else.
After 37 days of the strike, the workers' demands were partially met and they returned to work.
But Islam and his colleagues still haven't received fixed contracts.
And the management remains the same. And the laws remain the same, in favor of investors.
Let us realize our right to work with honor. Let us demand a change of laws in favor of the people.