Protesters representing a number of different causes, including working conditions and wages, converged on downtown Cairo on Wednesday, demonstrating outside the cabinet and other government buildings.
The first protest was organized by dozens of workers employed in the distribution of government-subsidized bread in the Nile Delta, who are demanding permanent employment and increased incentives.
One protestor demanded better base salaries if the government is unable to provide better incentives. The protesters carried banners saying, “We are not demanding much. We want permanent jobs.”
Also present were dozens of employees from the Irrigation Water and Sewage Holding Company, who were also demanding permanent employment and better salaries. Employee Sayyed Hussein, from the company’s Monufiya branch said, “I’ve been working in irrigation since 1995. But my salary is not more than LE250.”
The protesters threatened to shut down irrigation canals, which farmers depend on for watering their crops.
Meanwhile, dozens graduates from the University of Tanta Nursing Institute, in the Gharbiya Governorate, Nile Delta, protested for employment opportunities in government hospitals.
Close by, staff and engineers of the New Urban Communities Authority escalated their protests outside the Housing Ministry, announcing an open-ended sit-in next week, as well as a hunger strike. The protesters are demanding the ministry be purged of corrupt leaders. A number of staff members told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the escalation comes after nearly three weeks of their demands being ignored by the minister.
However, First Deputy of the New Urban Communities Authority, Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal al-Din, said that all of the protesters' demands, including the removal of unwanted officials, have been met.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
