Hundreds of railway drivers began a nationwide strike on Sunday to press for improved working conditions. Drivers are demanding a monthly bonus of LE300 and have rejected a 10 per cent pay raise, due to start next month. The strike began a day after representatives of the Railway Workers Union met with Transport Minister Hatem Abdel-Latif. Following the meeting striking drivers upped their demands to call for the dismissal of Hussein Zakaria, head of the National Railway Authority (NRA). The strike, which paralysed trains on all major lines, led to losses of LE15 million, the NRA said on Monday. At a press conference held on Sunday at Abdel-Latif's office, the minister said the lowest-paid railway worker already receives a monthly salary of LE1,300 and that a driver who has been working for 30 years receives LE3,000. He concluded the press conference by stating that a committee is to be formed to examine strikers' demands and the possibility of restructuring wages. NRA officials say financial incentives will be provided to train drivers who choose not to go on strike and revealed that the Transport Ministry has asked military drivers to take over the duties of train drivers until the conflict is resolved. On Tuesday morning NRA head Zakaria said rail services were back operating at 80 per cent of normal capacity. “We work under very difficult circumstances which are not reflected in our salaries,” says striking train driver Salah Abdel-Hai. “We apologise to passengers affected by the strike and hope they understand it is the only resort we have to press our case.” “The trip from Cairo to Aswan regularly takes six more hours than the nine that are scheduled. We are asking to be paid overtime for the addition work.” In an attempt to force drivers into ending their strike Zakaria threatened to refer the “instigators” to the Administrative Prosecution for investigation while also stating that negotiations with drivers were continuing. The NRA has apologised to passengers affected by the strike and has offered to refund tickets for missed journeys. Some frustrated passengers have called on the prosecutor-general to refer striking drivers to trial. On Monday evening drivers vowed to continue their work stoppage. Cairo-Alexandria, Cairo-Port Said, and Cairo-Tanta services were completely halted and there were major disruptions elsewhere. “We are not the thugs that the NRA is trying to depict,” says Abdel-Hai. The Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) reported on Monday that 100 drivers in Luxor had been summoned by the NRA and ordered to return to work. On Monday night the assistant to the transport minister, Ragab Moussa, said the situation was improving. “A large number of strikers have opted for negotiations and have suspended industrial action,” Moussa told Al-Nahar TV. “Even after ending the strike, however, the railway system will take time until the movement of the trains is back to normal.” Egypt has 9,570km of railway track, around 100,000 people work at railway facilities, and some 50 million passengers are transported annually, according to the NRA.
