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The staff of the Cairo bureau on strike - Solidarity

Friday 6 October 2017

All the versions of this article: [English] [français]

The staff of the Cairo bureau went on strike October 3 in order to have their salaries raised to compensate for the plunge in the value of the Egyptian pound.

The strike lasted 6 hours on the first day, 12 hours the second and for 24 hours on Thursday. The strike was then extended until 0600 GMT on Monday.

The Egyptian pound plunged in November 2016 after the government floated the currency. The staff say the drop in the pound has wiped out half of their purchasing power. AFP management consented to raising salaries by 10 to 35 percent, while AP has doubled the salaries of its Egyptian staff.

Before the collapse in November it cost AFP 102.5 euros to purchase 1,000 Egyptian pounds. Now it takes just 53.30 euros to purchase those 1,000 pounds to pay staff.

Since the strike has begun, management has offered a 30 percent raise, but not before January 1, demonstrating once again that it does not understand the immense difficulties faced by our Egyptian colleagues.

The Cairo staff simply want a return to the value of their salaries in October 2016 before the collapse of the pound, but have shown willingness to accept a compromise.
Management, however, has refused this olive branch and refused to negotiate with the striking staff, instead choosing to hide behind figures from the World Bank and other international organisations

The strike committee plans to meet Sunday to decide whether to extend the strike.
The French trade unions CFDT, CGT, FO, SNJ and SUD call on AFP employees to their support for their Egyptian colleagues.

A link to a crowdfunding account is below for those able to make a contribution to support the strikers who will see their pay docked.

The French trade unions call for a meeting with management as soon as possible.

Link to the crowdfunding account :
https://www.leetchi.com/fr/Cagnotte/24593929/93a04689