An urgent meeting of the General Assembly of the Commerce Syndicate has decided to have its members sign a petition urging President Mubarak to intervene to approve the bill they submitted to the People’s Assembly. The bill calls for the government to bring about equality between the different professional syndicates.
Around 300 Commerce Syndicate members protested Saturday in front of the syndicate headquarters in Abbasiya. They held banners reading, "We call for equality between syndicates" and "Ask President Mubarak to intervene to solve our problem." The protesters chanted, "Like the president said, we want good pensions." Leaders participating in the protest confirmed that they plan to hold other demonstrations next Saturday in governorates outside of Cairo. General Assembly members made clear they are angry that their demands continue to be neglected.
The syndicate will continue to escalate protests until syndicate members receive their full rights, said Samir Allam, head of the Commerce Syndicate. They will also add articles to the draft law which were removed, he added.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
