Dozens of workers in the Nile Cotton Ginning Company went on an open strike Sunday inside the company’s headquarters in Mahalla, demanding the payment of late salaries.

The headquarters was closed by the workers, who also stated that the administration decided to cancel scheduled bonuses.

The workers vowed to continue their strike until their demands are met. They previously staged a sit-in outside Itihadiya palace on 30 March.

The NCGC was sold in 1997 to a group of investors at a time when the company had manpower of up to 5,000 workers and was making profits, of which the workers received shares, according to the latest budgets before the sale.

Since the sale in 1997, the company has appointed successive boards of directors, all of whom have been party to the sale of acres of lands and the assets of the company, laying workers off and other violations that have further escalated since the current board was appointed in 2008. This prompted workers to start protesting the privatisation of the company .