Thousands of bus drivers who work for the Public Transportation Authority went on strike at Cairo garages on Wednesday, declaring an open-ended sit-in until their demands are met. The drivers had started a partial strike Sunday to demand higher pay, better heathcare and working conditions and better services for customers. The workers accused the authority's head, Mona Mostafa, of "playing" them and failing to honor her promise to set a timetable for fulfilling their demands. The officials said they would not be able to disburse the bonuses demanded by the drivers without approval from the prime minister and the finance minister. On Tuesday night, technicians joined the strike and refused to do maintenance on the vehicles after learning that their boss hadn't fulfilled the pledges she made during a meeting with those on strike earlier the same day. Mostafa had agreed to disburse the bonuses and to meet the rest of workers' demands over a certain period, but later issued a decree that failed to deal with any of their requests. The strike took place in 20 out of 25 Cairo garages, sources said. Translated from the Arabic Edition
