The Egypt’s Workers Democratic Union (EWDU) said it has collected 1.5 million signatures to withdraw confidence from Manpower Minister
Nahed al-Ashry.
Saad Shaaban, head of the union, said the minister has ignored the demands of the workers, especially those who were laid off. “She did not fight the labor law that was approved in the absence of the workers' representatives and which only serves the businessmen,” Shaaban said. “And she did not apply a minimum wage.”
“Also, (Ashry) only deals with the official labor union as if it were the only entity representing the workers,” he said.
“We were supposed to meet with the Prime Minister to brief him of our demands, but it was postponed for a few days,” he added.
“They are attacking just for the sake of attacking,” said Ashry, for her part. “They do not know that I work for their interests.”
“I will continue to support the workers of the private sector and fight corruption,” she said. “I will not pay attention to trivial matters so as not to disrupt production.”
“I did discuss the labor law with all concerned parties, and I will submit it to the government,” she said. “And I did make certain decisions in accordance with the law regarding the laid off workers.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
