Five offices of IPSOS closed over 'violating labor rules'

CAIRO – August 3: Five offices affiliate with IPSOS, the French market research and Public Opinion Research Company, were closed on Thursday over "violating" labor rules.

The closure came amid executing a decision issued by Minister of Manpower Mohamed Saafan on June 17 to terminate the company’s work in Egypt for non-compliance with labor rules in the country.

A number of satellite channels and companies had filed complaints against IPSOS to the Authority of Protection of Competition and Monopolistic Practices Prevention.

The companies accused IPSOS of misleading public opinion by manipulating viewership rates and demanded that the authority transfer the complaint to public prosecution.

The complaint document stated that the company did not implement the correct criteria in its polls, groundlessly favoring certain channels over others. The complaining companies ended their contracts with the company in 2014.

However, IPSOS continued issuing reports that included false data on those companies.

In July 2016, a number of satellite channels, including Al Nahar, Al Hayat, CBC, ONTV, and Dream, reported IPSOS for false viewership reports. The news website Enferad reported last year that complaining channels declared that reports included unrealistic changes in channel rankings.

IPSOS had ranked Mekameleen, a channel launched from Turkey by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, as the highest in viewership ratings in Egypt, although it is not even broadcast on NileSat. The plaintiffs accused IPSOS of trying to monopolize the advertising market which threatens national security.