Public transportation drivers are continuing their strike for a second week, despite a government statement that it had been suspended. News reports on Tuesday claimed the drivers had agreed to suspend their strike until the government examines their demands, but drivers insisted this was not true and staged a protest in front of the cabinet building Wednesday. A large number of drivers and Public Transportation Authority employees gathered in front of the cabinet downtown and chanted for higher salaries and bonuses and permanent employment for temporary workers. Some accused the authority of squandering public funds, citing the poor condition of buses which, they warned, endangers the lives of passengers and drivers. The workers told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the authority profits from advertising and from selling spare parts, but fails to repair garages or buses. On Sunday, the Public Transportation Workers Syndicate failed to convince the drivers and other employees to ignore the strike and continue working.
