CAIRO - Hungry for higher wages and lower prices in the domestic market, millions of Egyptian workers are very unhappy about the cash-strapped caretaker Government's embarrassing appeal for more time to consider their demands. What makes the striking workers even more angry is that the media have extensively reported that Hosni Mubarak, his family and his close associates stashed billions of US dollars in overseas banks. The large-scale and allegedly illegal transfer of money beyond the borders reportedly happened long before the recent revolution, which toppled Mubarak and his regime. According to official and unofficial statistics, about two-thirds of Egyptians sank below the poverty line as a result of Mubarak's disastrous economic policies. Socialists say that Mubarak's regime tailored its economic strategies for a group of businesspeople with strong connections with his family and his cronies. A legion of public prosecutors are now burying their heads in mountains of reports compiled by watchdogs about the enormous scams masterminded by the former regime over 30 years. Egyptian workers really began to find their economic hardships unbearable about two years ago. Now the extent of the corruption in the former presidential palace is beginning to come to light, they have decided to step up their campaign for more money. One of the things they want is a minimum monthly wage of LE800. They refuse to back down, especially as the Government's claims about its financial difficulties have been rebutted by economists. One economic expert says that the Government can satisfy the workers' growing demands if it handles its financial resources sensibly. Ahmed el-Naggar, Editor of The Report on Economic and Strategic Trends, published by Al-Ahram Centre for Political Studies, says that the regime of the ex-president forced people to work round the clock to survive. El-Naggar also blames employees' pitiful salaries on the appalling corruption in governmental offices. “The former regime paid millions of its employees so little that they had to resort to corruption and kickbacks to support their families,” the economic expert adds. El-Naggar proposes that pay rises should correspond to the prices of basic commodities. Meanwhile, Professor Baher Atlam of the Faculty of Economy and Political Sciences, says that the Government could easily pay a minimum monthly wage of LE1,200 if the money smuggled abroad by the former regime and its corrupt associates were retrieved. “The workers' demands won't put a strain on the State budget if the billions of US dollars smuggled abroad come back,” he says, urging tax officials to do their homework to ensure people get what they deserve.
