Public transportation workers (Photo by: Mai Shaheen)
The head of the Independent Syndicate for Public Transportation Workers, Ali Fathouh, denied claims that the public transportation workers had halted their strike today.
Media reports claimed the strike had been put on hold after the protesting drivers were promised to meet Mona Abdel Hamid, chief of the public transportation department, on Tuesday.
However, speaking to Ahram Online, Fatouh stressed that the strike hasn't ended because demands have not been met.
“The strike is ongoing,” said Foutouh. “We stated that our demands must be fulfilled on Saturday in order to end it, but that didn’t happen, so we are still on a strike that should last until Wednesday.”
However, Haitham Mohamadein, member of the federation of independent unions, says that the strike is ongoing in only one of the 22 garages that belong to the Public Transportation Department, but the others have decided to halt the strike until Tuesday, when they expect to enter into negotiations.
Public transportation workers are calling for pay raises and other financial incentives.
Despite the strike, the public transportation has not been gravely affected because the thousands of independent mini- and microbus drivers are still working.
Mini- and microbusses are the preferred means of transportation for the Egyptian working class, but they are not affiliated with the Public Transportation Department, unlike the standard-sized buses.
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