CAIRO: A dozen public school teachers demonstrated in front of the Cabinet Saturday for its failure to set a timetable for meeting their demands following mass strikes that took place in schools nationwide. “An official from the Cabinet told us to negotiate with Tarek Hossary, assistant to the minister of education, who we actually refused to talk to when we were discussing our demands with the minister [late September],” said Mohamed Zahran, head of the Independent Teachers Union. Teachers went on a strike during the first week of the academic year on Sept. 17. The strike was suspended as the Ministry of Education promised to deliver the 200 percent incentive and a timeline to meet other demands. “A Cabinet official told us that Prime Minister Essam Sharaf does not know anything about our demands, because the Minister of Education and people working with him are hiding details about our demands,” said Zahran. “How can a prime minister not be aware of protests taking place outside his office?” he asked. “Properly he wants to elongate the periods of protest for the other government to come,” said Zahran. Teachers are demanding better pay and working conditions and greater government investment into what they believe is a notoriously overburdened educational system. Other demands include the resignation of Education Minister Ahmed Gamal El-Din Moussa, the payment of a promised 200 percent incentive, and hiring teachers on temporary contracts. Teachers have also asked for a minimum wage of LE 3,000. In a statement read during the demonstration Saturday, teachers said they will refuse negotiations until the ministry is “cleansed” from corruption. “Those are our rights, that's what the ministry should understand,” said Zahran. Teachers are calling for a nationwide strike on Nov. 15 before exams; however Zahran anticipates a strike to take place sooner. The Independent Teachers Union is forming a committee to follow up on the situation, stating that teachers will be protesting every Saturday in a different governorate.
