Dr. Khalid El-Zahaby, Head of Housing and Building National Research Center (HBNRC), stated that he has discussed the problems of HBNRC's staff with Housing Minister Dr.Tarek Wafiq, aiming to reach solutions and end the protests led by the employees. He explained that the legitimacy of the protesters' demands to the Minister, given that the Ministry of Finance has issued a decision at the beginning of the new fiscal year, cancelling the bonuses offered to HBNRC staff. However, the Ministry allowed paying these bonuses to managing directors and foreign partners, which is considered unfair. The Minister of Housing has promised to address the Ministry of Finance regarding this issue, in addition to offering the employees financial allowances as a compensation, for example, increasing the value of the overtime or granting them a monthly salary as a bonus for research projects. On the other hand, 50 employees have staged a sit-in yesterday, demanding allowances and changing some of HBNRC's leaders, highlighting that sit-in will take place only during the official working hours. They also declared that they will pursue the protests on a daily basis until officials respond to their demands.
