Category: Blog

Train drivers threaten to strike 25 Nov

Posted on By 3arabawy

Around 50 train drivers from different provinces assembled today in Misr Station, Ramses, shortly after 12 noon. The drivers denounced the results of the morning meeting held with the management, and threatened to block the 2pm Turbini train (yep, the same one that was stopped last year). The state-owned Railway Authorities told the drivers’ representatives that their demands to raise the incentives from 11pt to 25pt per kilometer, were rejected. Following the protest, and the threat to block the trains. The chief of police in station negotiated with the drivers, who only suspended their assembly around 1:40pm, awaiting the results of another meeting promised by the govt on 24 November. The drivers threatened to launch a strike on 25 November if their demands are not met…

I’ll upload more pix and post a longer report later.

Train drivers vent their anger on govt policies سائقو القطارات ينددون بسياسات الحكومة والهيئة

Railway drivers threaten to strike

Posted on By 3arabawy

Railway drivers are assembling tomorrow Thursday, around 12 noon, in Misr Station, Ramses, while representatives from the Railway Authorities, the state-backed Railway Union, and the independent Railway Drivers’ Association will convene to discuss the drivers’ bonuses.

The drivers have been demanding an increase in Hafez el-Kilo (The “Kilo Incentives”), from 11 Piasters to 25 Piasters. The bonus is a function of how many kilometers the train drivers complete in their daily journeys.

The state backed union officials had tried to diffuse the situation, by bringing a government offer to the drivers for a 15% increase only. The offer was rejected, and once again the “Associations” stepped in.

Around 100 railway drivers held a meeting yesterday in the Railway Club, and agreed negotiations with the Railway Authorities should be conducted via the independent Railway Association leaders, not the state-backed union officials. Representatives from the Association will take part in tomorrow’s morning meeting, mentioned above. Other drivers will descend on Ramses around noon. A labor source told me the govt is expected to make a compromise or extend the negotiations, but there is a fighting mood, which could translate into a strike on 25 November.

In related news, industrial safety technicians on temporary contracts are staging a sit-in tomorrow also in Misr Station, against privatization of their service.