CAIRO: The syndicate for education sector administrators plans to start a series of "peaceful protests against the ministry's failure to deliver a 50 percent salary increase promised through the amended teachers' law in 2008. The decision was announced during a syndicate assembly on Thursday. The People's Assembly (PA) had promised to grant employees of the various education administrations the same 50 percent raise promised to teachers. "But the government did not do what the PA has legislated, said MP Aly Laban, and member of the PA's education committee who was deeply involved in orchestrating the new teachers' law passed last summer. Laban said that the PA had agreed with the Minister of Finance to deliver the 50 percent salary increase over three years: 15 percent increase in the first year, another 15 in the second and the remaining 20 in the third year. "The minister had agreed to this, said Laban, "then suddenly the government changed its mind. Laban believes the problem is more political than a matter of resources. "The government does not respect the PA or its decisions, even though the PA respects the government and does its best to coordinate with it on discussions of new laws and regulations, he said. Daily News Egypt could not reach Nabil Rashdan, deputy Minister of Finance, for comment. He is the only official authorized to comment on the issue. According to the local press, around 526,000 employees in the education sector will participate in the protest, which is kick off on March 29, when protestors hold a sit-in for two hours starting 9 am in their work places. This will be followed by another "whole day protest on March 30. The next day, protestors will head to the various branches of the Ministry of Education where they will protest in front of the administrative buildings all day. Protests have become commonplace among Egypt's professional sectors, including doctors, pharmacists and tax executives. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif commented on the protest phenomena by saying that it's "a sign of democracy.
