Al-Fagr journalists renewed their demands for overdue salaries and clarity on the institution’s future, following months of promises that the crisis would soon end up on the sale of the newspaper to a private investor.
In a statement issued Monday evening and circulated on Facebook, the journalists affirmed their commitment to their professional and legal rights amid a worsening crisis that has directly impacted staff conditions.
The statement said salaries had been delayed for nearly a full year, while the paper’s print edition had been suspended for several months, fueling anxiety and instability inside the institution.
The journalists called on the institution’s management to state a “clear and decisive position” on the sale, disclose the institution’s fate, and formally appoint journalists who have worked for years without contracts.
They specifically targeted current management for “constant stalling” and called on Board Chairman Nassif Qazman to state a clear position. They also urged founder and editor-in-chief Adel Hammouda to “shoulder his professional and moral responsibilities” toward employees, noting his role as a member of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.
Al-Fagr journalist Maysoon Abo El-Hassan said the statement followed months of failed attempts to reach a settlement, despite management repeatedly claiming that talks to sell the institution were underway.
Abo El-Hassan told Al Manassa that journalists received seemingly serious signs about three months ago suggesting the crisis was close to ending after a prospective buyer expressed interest in restructuring the institution and settling overdue salaries.
However, she explained that those hopes gradually faded as management’s accounts conflicted regarding share percentages and legal hurdles related to heirs of founding shareholders.
Abo El-Hassan said the journalists had given management more than one chance and even helped facilitate communication with the syndicate and management to support the sale process. But she said they still had no clear answer on whether the investor remained involved, particularly after scheduled steps—such as calling a company general assembly to address disputed shares—were postponed.
“The absence of a clear timetable to end the crisis, or accurate information on the fate of the negotiations, has reinforced our belief that the situation has entered a cycle of foot-dragging as the salary stoppage approaches its 11th month,” she added.
Journalists Syndicate head Khaled Elbalshy told Al Manassa that the syndicate was no longer dealing with the “vague promises” issued by management. He said the syndicate council had already begun collecting information and documents on the institution’s ownership by contacting bodies including the General Authority for Investment and the Companies Authority in preparation for taking the necessary measures to support the journalists.
Elbalshy added that the syndicate had remained in contact with management representatives since the start of the crisis. While management had repeatedly spoken of attempts to contain the financial difficulties, the crisis had, in his words, “dragged on too long.”
He said the syndicate had formed a committee to coordinate with the journalists on any next steps, affirming support for any legal measures employees may agree on.
Elbalshy also noted ongoing communication with Adel Hammouda, despite Hammouda previously telling the syndicate that he no longer held an administrative role in the institution. Elbalshy insisted that Hammouda’s name “will remain linked to Al-Fagr as its founder.”
Management told journalists at the end of last December that the headquarters could close within a month “because there are no solutions from United Media Services, to which the majority of shares were transferred in exchange for managing financial dues and running the newspaper’s operations.”
