Labor protests erupted in several Egyptian cities on Wednesday, all of which featured demands by workers for salary raises in keeping with rising cost-of-living expenses. Education Ministry employees staged protests in ten cities throughout the country to demand higher pay bonuses. “The education minister has failed to keep his promise to improve our financial situation,” said protester Ahmed Shalaby. “So, for that matter, did the finance minister.” Employees of state information centers, meanwhile, maintained their two-day-old sit-in--held for the same reason--outside the Egyptian Trade Union Federation's Cairo headquarters. Also in Cairo, workers from Middle East Contractors demonstrated before the parliament building against the government's refusal to allow them to enroll in a housing project in the city of Helwan. Demonstrators were eventually dispersed by security personnel. And in 10 Ramadan City, workers from the Savola factory staged protests for the third consecutive day. They say that company management plans to close down the factory and lay them all off. In the Upper Egyptian city of Assiut, meanwhile, doctors employed by the local Al-Azhar Hospital also staged protests to demand better pay. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
