Dozens of workers from the Technologia el-Maloumat wal Haseb el-Aali School in Ismailia threatened to strike to protest the delayed payment of their bonuses. The workers urged Minister of Education Ahmed Zaki Badr to intervene in their favor, saying they face difficult living conditions.They added that they have sent several complaints to the minister with no result. Adel Abdel Gawwad, the school headmaster, said a decision by the Education Minister in March 2010 has placed the school under the authority of the Education Ministry instead of the Educational Establishments Authority. The minister also ordered a new board of directors for the school to be formed, headed by the governorate's Education Ministry deputy. Since that time, Abdel Gawwad added, the annual LE one million subsidy given to the school has been withheld, leading to the current crisis. In Gharbiya, approximately 500 workers from the Tanta Flax and Oil Company continued their sit-in inside the company headquarters to protest the Manpower Minister's decision to push 300 of them into early retirement. The workers called for equal treatment and the appointment of a new general commissioner for the company. Ahmed Howeidi, the company treasurer, said there are ongoing negotiations with the Manpower Minister to increase to 450 the number of workers who enter into early retirement, with the rest retiring in 2011. Howeidi confirmed that he met with the Manpower Minister yesterday to present her with the workers' demands. In Sharqia approximately 500 drivers, conductors and workers for an internal transportation project staged an open-ended strike this morning to protest the governor's decision to liquidate their company. According to the workers, the minister said the project has made LE20 million in losses over the past ten years. The workers said they were shocked by the decision to wind up the company and at the sale of the project land to the Housing and Development Bank. They claim the land will be used to build investment projects for influential businessmen in the governorate. The workers expressed fear that they will be forced either into early retirement or to work for the local councils without first being awarded their full financial entitlement. They blamed the project management for the losses, saying the project's vehicles have been used by managers to carry out their own private business, while some vehicles still in good condition have been scrapped and sold at auction for personal profit. Workers described how drivers and conductors used to receive bonuses of just LE10, whereas janitors and employees would receive up to LE350 in incentives. It was further alleged that some of the revenues made by the project went into the pockets of the management. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
