C0009 Egypt

In September 2022 and November 2022, the IRM received two complaints related to concerns over working conditions and access to grievance mechanism in the Benban Solar Park, with relevance to FP039. The complainants were formerly employed by the company Health and Safety Home, working at various projects in the Benban Solar Park. The complainants raise several allegations regarding working conditions and labour management issues, including quality of food provided and differential treatment of employees in terms of salary, benefits and promotions, prevention of access to grievance mechanism, and retaliation for filing complaints. Complainants have alleged lack of community development in the village (Benban) where the project is based. Complainants have indicated that they are not seeking confidentiality, but per the IRM's risk assessment, the risk of retaliation remains high. While the IRM is not granting confidentiality, the identities of the complainants will not be disclosed in public communications, per the risk assessment.

After the two complaints were declared eligible, the case entered the initial steps phase, during which all parties indicated their willingness to resolve the issues through the problem solving process. In a joint meeting held on 14 and 15 December 2023, the case reached a partial settlement through a comprehensive Problem Solving Agreement, addressing the community concerns and outlining a path forward for collaboration between BSDA and the Benban community.  The IRM has now initiated monitoring on this part of the case.

Additional complaints related to employment matters were handled separately. Following the conclusion of the problem-phase, one complaint was referred to compliance review as of April 24 2024. The compliance appraisal for this complaint concluded on 12 July 2024 with a recommendation to proceed to compliance investigation. A second complaint initially reached a problem-solving agreement and entered into monitoring. As of 14 July, monitoring on the agreement was no longer feasible and the complaint has since been referred to compliance review. The compliance appraisal for this second complaint concluded on 13 September 2024 with a recommendation to proceed to compliance investigation.

The IRM will ensure a common Scope of Investigation in respect of both complainants and will proceed on the basis of a single compliance investigation. The Compliance Investigation phase should conclude by 12 July 2025, subject to IRM Procedures and Guidelines.