“Egypt is currently passing through a critical period and on the brink of bankruptcy,” said Minister of Manpower and Immigration Ahmed al-Borai at a symposium organized by five companies in Alexandria on Wednesday under the title “Problems Faced by the Private Sector.”
“[Egypt’s] losses are growing day by day. Either we band together and change the current situation, or let Egypt be destroyed,” he said.
He said that the labor protests and labor problems were caused by “obsolete” organizations, and accused the Mubarak regime of leaving behind the corruption from which Egypt’s government currently suffers.
“My colleagues and I in government are nuts for accepting office during such hard times, but I won’t abandon my post unless I’m fired,” he said, adding that he supports union freedoms and strikes, but that the current circumstances do not permit them, especially given that the government is studying the people’s demands in order to decide which ones it should respond to first.
He cautioned the workers against excessive demands, which he considered a sure-fire way to destroy the country and reduce the number of jobs.
“We have four million unemployed,” he said. “And the best way for improving the current situation is to create more work opportunities.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition
