CAIRO - Thousands of Egyptian workers poured onto the streets on Sunday to celebrate May Day, the first time after Egyptians managed to oust Hosni Mubarak who ruled this country for the past 30 years, chanting slogans and expressing grievances. The workers organised marches through the main streets and squares of the Egyptian capital, but ended up in Al Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protests that toppled Mubarak. On the square, they set up a stage on one of the pavements to give labour leaders the chance to address thousands of workers who showed up from different places. “The reluctance of the Army and the Government to bring to justice the government officials, including the president himself, who stole the money of the people for years is incomprehensible to me,” said one labour leader. “They did not take any action against the corrupt businessmen who still control a major chunk of the economy either,” he added amid thunderous applause from the workers who listened attentively to what he said. In front of him, tens of placards were raised announcing the demands of the workers, while others were there to express support for the Army. “Workers with temporary contracts in the nation's factories must be given permanent contracts,” read one banner. “No to the law criminalising labour strikes,” read another. This is the first time in 30 years Egyptians do not gather in front of their TV screens at home and in coffee shops to listen to Mubarak's May Day address where he used to promise pay raises that were always dwarfed by price hikes. But this is a time of change for all Egyptians, most of whom feel free now to speak about their own problems without fear from being punished by Mubarak's secret police and his once-feared State Security. Perhaps this was one reason why all kinds of people met in Al Tahrir Square Monday, including people who travelled a long way from their homes to the centre of the Egyptian capital to make their voices heard. “Basic commodity prices do not match the salaries we take,” said Antar Aly, a schoolteacher who was in the square yesterday to protest as well. “I take 1,400 pounds for a salary, what can I do with this amount of money?” he asked in an interview with The Gazette. Aly, 48, has two children, but he was not the worst case in the central Cairo gathering on Monday. Worse still was the case of Mohamed Ahmed, a 55-year-old carpenter who was there to call for the Government to find him a permanent job even at this old age. “Sometimes I work, but most of the time I cannot find anybody to hire me,” Ahmed, the father of five children, said. “I hope I can find a stable source of income,” he added. In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf promised to work hard to improve wages and push the economy forward. He said his Government would seek to create jobs and restore production in all sectors together with making the required transition to democracy. This, however, did not seem of interest to one of the speakers in the Tahrir Square rally. The speaker expressed anger at what he described as the “slow pace” of reforms made by the Sharaf' Government. “The Government has been in place for more than two months now,” said the speaker. “They did not do enough to improve the living conditions of the majority,” he added.
