CAIRO: Radio broadcasters at the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) continued their three-day sit-in inside the Maspero building, in protest at rampant corruption, as an elected committee of protesters met Minister for Information Osama Heikal discuss their demands. The employees had issued a statement on Monday explaining their position and demands. They said that their sit-in aimed to step-up the process of liberating the official media, which has lost credibility during and since the January uprising. It also mentioned that the radio broadcasters had exercised self-restraint in consideration of the national circumstances but that reforms had been implemented in almost every sector within Maspero except for the radio sector. “We demand the purge of corruption in our sector and the implementation the rules; the liberation of media, the removal of censorship constraints and the restructuring of salaries,” said Ayman Abdel-Rahman, who works at Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Broadcast Service. Abdel-Rahman said that “the current ERTU Chairman [Tharwat Mekki] was appointed only seven weeks before he was scheduled to retire, after which his tenure was extended for another year by a ministerial decree.” He added that Mekki was also a member of the policies committee of the disbanded National Democratic Party (NDP), widely seen as having corrupted political life in Egypt. “Radio broadcasters remain the most underpaid, getting even less than technicians and administrative staff,” Abdel-Rahman added. He explained that several proposals to restructure ERTU were dismissed, mainly due to “pressures from a particular minority who benefit from the current confusion and opacity, and thus obtain very high pay.” “During Ramadan, our sector was the only one that managed to bring in more revenues and create a surplus through commercials and advertising,” he remarked. Their proposal included setting a minimum monthly wage of LE 3,000 for third-tier broadcasters, and a wage cap of LE 6,000 for managerial-levels. “By contrast, third-tier television directors earn LE 8,000. We're not asking for the same numbers, but for some justice.” he said. The state radio employees began their protests last week on Oct. 19, against a delay in salary payments in the past four months, and against the slow implementation of the financial restructuring proposal by Heikal, according to Ahmed Montasser, from Al-Aghany Radio Service. He added that the minister's proposal aimed to implement the financial changes over a tremendously long period over three phases, beginning in January and ending in July 2012. “Our demands are social justice and financial equality … our technicians, who have lesser qualifications, earn between one and a half to two times what we earn,” said Montasser. The employees had proposed their temporary reform plan last week to Ismail Shishtawy, the Head of the Broadcasting Sector, to be implemented in November-December 2011, until Heikal's proposal takes effect in 2012, according to Mohamed Garrah, senior broadcaster with Al-Shabab wal-Riyadah Radio Service. Shishtawy however refused their proposal, citing a lack of available funds and resources at his disposal, but asked them to elect representatives to voice their demands to Mekki. After deliberations, the protestors insisted that they meet with Mekki as a group or not at all, prompting Shishtawy to spend most of Sunday in a closed meeting with Mekki. By Sunday at 6 pm, army officers were called in to convince protesters camped out on the eighth floor in front of Mekki's office, to leave. “The protesters refused and the army helped Mekki flee the building through a backdoor,” said Garrah. Until press time, Heikal was still holding a meeting with a delegation of radio sector protesters, who vowed to continue their sit-in on the second floor at Maspero and threatened to go on hunger strike if the stalling continued.
