Various groups representing underprivileged sections of society joined forces on Monday to hold demonstrations in front of the parliament building in Downtown Cairo to demand better working conditions and employee rights.
More than 5000 people, including government employees, graduates, farmers and those with disabilities, assembled with banners calling for Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to respond positively to their concerns.
Among them were workers at the Mechanical Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, who blocked the vital street of Qasr al-Eini Street and refused to leave until their demands were met. They complain of bad working conditions, low salaries and insufficient insurance in case of injury.
“I have been working for the ministry for almost 15 years and my salary is LE30, and I don’t have a fixed work contract,” said Abdelfatah Sherawy from Gharbiya governorate.
The agricultural mechanical workers are responsible for harvesting wheat, a strategic agricultural commodity in the nation. Egypt is the largest wheat importer in the world, consuming 14 million tons of wheat annually, but is only able to produce 8 million tons, according to Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
The season for harvesting the wheat crop is due to start within days, and this Monday’s workers’ strike poses threaten to exacerbate the country’s shortage of wheat.
“In the whole country there are 6108 workers living in severe working conditions, and the government is completely ignoring us,” said Ali Abdel Fatah, an agricultural worker who hails from the governorate of Kafr al-Shiekh.
Meanwhile, a number of people with disabilities staged a sit-in in front of the parliament building, calling on the government to meet their basic demands and provide them with housing and work.
They also demanded an apology for the alleged insult they received from Minister of Social Solidarity and Justice Gouda Abdel Khaleq.
“We went to the Ministry (of Social Solidarity) and the minister, describing us as ‘garbage,’ refused to meet us. We were really humiliated,” said Wael Said Madkour, who hails from Gharbiya.
“We only ask for the government to provide us with housing and activate our rights in getting jobs,” added Madkour.
Experts say that the cabinet of ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif didn’t make enough effort to activate positive discrimination policies that would enable people with disabilities to fill state posts.
Monday's demonstrations come less than 24 hours after a landmark referendum, in which 77.2 percent of voters gave their approval to a range of proposed constitutional amendments. Backers of the vote, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, had argued that voting "yes" would bring stability to the country.
