CAIRO: The Journalists for Al-Ahram group are currently negotiating with their syndicate as well as the newspaper's editor, Osama Saraya, refusing to talk directly with chairman Morsi Atallah, with whom they are in dispute. Last week, the group of journalists organized a strike in protest at the latest board decision which prohibits Al-Ahram journalists from working for any other media organization. The group wants Atallah and the current board removed. "There are ongoing negotiations with the Journalists' Syndicate, our editor-in-chief [Osama Saraya] and several other parties, said Diaa Rashwan, the spokesperson of the Journalists for Al-Ahram and Islamic studies expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, stressing that they will not be involved in any negotiations with Attallah's board. In addition to negotiating with politicians, the group is writing a proposal to the Shoura Council, the legislative body with the power to change the chairman of the board. Print house workers, engineers and managers defended Attallah, arguing that he has restructured the salary scheme for their benefit. Despite the journalists' clashes with the administration, nothing has been reported about the crisis in any of the state-run Al-Ahram's publications. "It is as if nothing has happened, said Rashwan. On Sunday in Attallah's daily column "Everyday, he subtly addressed the group by talking about success and how there can be "no compromise or truces with anyone out of order, anyone who is threatening stability and promoting chaos. The group has three main objectives: first, to reconcile the good relationship they had with the workers and administrative staff at Al-Ahram; second, to get Attallah out of Al-Ahram; third, to outline all the concerns of Al-Ahram's workers and the areas of reform in the organization so they would present them to the "upcoming administration. Board member and economist at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Ahmed El-Naggar, previously told Daily News Egypt that the board had unanimously agreed on this controversial decision as it's a major conflict of interest to write in a competing publication. "At the same time, we understand that Al-Ahram is a state-owned newspaper which sometimes forces it to keep certain opinions and views from being published in it, therefore the decision specifically allows the journalists to publish editorial pieces in other publications, just as long as this is not done on a regular basis and with a contract, explained El-Naggar. He also assured that there will be an improvement in salaries in the near future.
