Today, Saturday, Railway drivers in Bani Sweif staged a sit-in over bonuses. I also have unconfirmed report about protests by the Ain el-Sokhna Port workers in Suez over privatization.
UPDATE: Here’s a photo of the Bani Sweif protesters:
UPDATE: Here’s a report by Sarah Carr:
One hundred employees of the Egyptian Railway Authority from El-Wosta, Beni Suef, protested against pay and conditions Saturday.
The five-hour protest, which began at 10 am in El-Wosta, was intended to draw attention to a number of demands.
Railway drivers are calling for the payment of withheld housing allowances and other benefits, increased pay and health insurance, which they say are received by employees based in other areas of Egypt, but not by them.
They are also calling for better maintenance of rolling stock whose neglect poses a safety risk, according to train drivers, and demand that they be based in central Cairo, rather than the Upper Egypt governorate of Assiut.
“El-Wosta is 90 km from Cairo and yet we report to Assiut, which is 300 km away – it’s illogical,” train driver Ahmad Ramadan explained.
Ramadan told Daily News Egypt that further action is planned.
“We will hold another protest on the March 10 if management does not respond to our demands,” he said.