An association of Egyptian workers in Italy has commissioned a law firm to defend 70 workers who were fired without prior notification, according to reports sent to Ahmed Abdel Zaher, head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation.

World Federation of Trade Unions General Secretary George Mavrikos*, who also heads Italy’s trade union federation, urged an immediate intervention to solve the problem of the workers, who have ended a five-day sit-in.

In a letter to the ETUF, a foreign relations official at the Italian federation said he had asked three manpower ministry officials to cease violence against migrant workers in accordance with international labor standards.

The leader of the Egyptian workers association in Italy, Eissa Iskandar, said they have been coordinating with Egyptian Ambassador Omar Abbas to push for reinstating the dismissed workers. He said the protesting workers had been sacked without prior notification and did not receive the financial compensation owed to them.

Iskandar added that the workers had also engaged in clashes with police forces during their protest, which led to the injury of 14 Egyptians and eight policemen.

Edited translation from MENA

*This article originally stated incorrectly that George Mavrikos was the secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, a different organization.