CAIRO: One thousand members of the Commerce Syndicate held a protest Saturday in front of the syndicate s headquarters in Abassiya demanding the approval of a draft law they had presented to parliament and the payment of five months of delayed pensions. The syndicate s extraordinary general assembly held on the same day also decided to stay in session until their demands are met. They have also appealed to President Mubarak to intervene. The syndicate s draft law proposes an increase in the revenue sources of the syndicate, pension raises of between LE 50- LE 1000 as well as achieving legal and financial parity with other syndicates. The protestors accuse Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali and steel mogul MP Ahmed Ezz, head of the budget committee at the People's Assembly (PA) of distorting the draft law during the PA discussions and changing some of its articles. They also appealed to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to punish government officials for not activating a decree make syndicate membership obligatory. We have had enough; we tried all possible means and we had no other option but to protest, Head of the Commerce Syndicate told Al-Masry Al-Youm. The syndicate s board is now preparing a list of members, who are also government officials. These members will be interrogated before the syndicate's disciplinary committee for charges of working against their colleagues interests. The Commerce Syndicate has one million members. Protests are scheduled to take place weekly in front of the syndicate's headquarters and at branches throughout the country.
