CAIRO: Employees at terrestrial TV channels 1 and 2 protested for the second day on Monday in front of the Egyptian Television and Radio Union (ERTU) building in Maspero, Downtown Cairo, against being sidelined in the channel's 'development' plans. Tenured employees, including program presenters, directors, writers and photographers, called on President Hosni Mubarak to support them. They are objecting to the cancellation of their shows and the outsourcing of workers from outside the ERTU. Protestors blamed the "corrupt leadership of ERTU for their current predicament. They accused management of promoting the development and reprogramming strategies for personal gain. They also asked for support from their fellow workers in the media sector. Activist and presenter in Channel 1 presenter Gamila Ismail, wife of ex-Al Ghad party leader Ayman Nour was recently released from prison, attended the protest even though she hadn't appeared on screen for four years since Nour was jailed. The protestors demanded the reinstatement of their programs into the channel schedule and to be offered training and equipment that will keep them up-to-date and in line with the planned developments. Employees in terrestrial Channels 3, 4 and 5 joined the protest to support their co-workers, fearing that they will be next. During Sunday's protest, Suzan Hassan, head of the television sector at ERTU delegated her deputy Adel Maaty to negotiate with the protestors who refused to speak to him, saying that they don't believe in promises. They demanded official decrees to be signed by the Minister of Information, Anas El Fiqi. Recent developments on Channels 1 and 2 include new programming produced by private media production companies.
