CAIRO: A group of Egyptian archaeologists and workers from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) are on strike, demanding higher pay and improved working conditions. Mohammad Abdel Fatah, the recently appointed Minister of Antiquities, submitted his resignation last week because of the protests. He told Egypt's MENA news agency that he felt “powerless and overwhelmed.” He went on to call the SCA “paralyzed.” Fatah called military police to the SCA headquarters last week to disperse the strikers as they attempted to storm the council's building in downtown Cairo. The strikes are set to continue until all workers are given new contracts. However, the Egyptian government announced that tourism revenues have dropped over one third since this time last year, making the nations antiquities budget suffer a great deal. “I understand that people want jobs, but salary money in the antiquities sector is derived from ticket sales at antiquities sights. Tourism revenues are down because of the strikes though, so it is like a catch 22,” Salima Ikram, the Chair of the Egyptology Department at the American University in Cairo, explained to Bikyamasr.com. Workers have closed seven archaeological sites across the country to show solidarity with the strikers. On Tuesday, workers at the Temple of Abydos in Sohag closed the sight and its museum. Other closed monuments include the Nubian Museum in Aswan, Abu Simbel, Wadi el-Sebou and museums near Lake Nasser. Workers have also closed several of the country's storage units, which contain thousands of artifacts. “A lot of people are still continuing with their jobs in terms of caring for the antiquities sights. I think the sights are secure, and I don't think that anyone involved will allow the sights to become vulnerable,” Ikhram added. Egypt has been witness to several waves of strikes since the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. BM
