Negotiations between Minister of Communications Atef Helmy and Postal Authority workers failed Tuesday when the minister told the workers that the authority does not have sufficient funds to meet their financial demands, according to a statement by the Centre for Trade Union and Workers Services. The workers strike and sit-in inside the Cairo headquarters of the Postal Authority in Attaba is entering its second week, demanding application of the minimum income along with a 50% bonus and a 7% periodical bonus to their basic salary and a plan to reform workers' wages. The workers are also calling for the ouster of the General Manager of the Postal Authority Ashraf Abdelraham, who refused to acknowledge the independent syndicates as representatives of the workers. Minister of Manpower Nahed Al-Ashry asked the union leaders from various sectors in a meeting at the Egyptian Trade Union Federation on Monday to present her with a document detailing the problems of the workers in each sector to be able to understand the situation. Mesbah Qotb, the finance minister's adviser for public outreach, told the Daily News Egypt in late February that Egyptian workers in various public sectors – including the Postal Authority and the Public Transportation Authority – are not eligible for the minimum income system. Qotb said only employees working in the collections units of the ministries, government localities and service authorities, fall under the categories of those who will receive the announced minimum income increases.
