CAIRO: Demonstrations calling for better wages, which have become a common scene in front of government buildings and at factories nationwide, are echoing in New Cairo where workers at the American University in Cairo (AUC) had their paychecks cut in half this month.
Around 400 disgruntled AUC workers demonstrated last Wednesday in front of the university’s administration building, calling for a minimum wage of LE 1,200 after their salaries were cut in half due to deductions for both medical and social insurance, which they demand AUC pay for.
Until Sept. 1, the custodial and maintenance staff of the university was contracted by Compass Egypt. With the start of this school year, however, AUC ended its contractual relationship with Compass Egypt and now hires its workers directly.
A group of janitors, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Daily News Egypt that they were under the impression that their conditions would improve once they were included on AUC’s payroll.
“Reality showed us that our conditions now are becoming worse and worse,” one janitor said. “At least with Compass we never underwent such severe salary cuts; our salaries remained at LE 650.”
A list of workers’ demands obtained by Daily News Egypt included giving workers Saturdays off, as well as outlining new pension and medical care plans.
A meeting that took place on Sunday between the administration and a delegation of 10 workers resulted in a LE 200 raise starting November 2011 free of tax, leaving annual raises undetermined.
The meeting also resulted in giving workers only one Saturday off a month, with no overtime for the remaining Saturdays.
Another meeting will be held on Nov. 11 to resume negotiations.
Based on Sunday’s meeting, workers were scheduled to resume work on Monday, considering the current outcome as the best possible compromise.
Student support
AUC students rallied behind the workers, some missing classes in solidarity with the workers and others coming to the university on Saturday — which is a day off — to show support.
Students signed an online petition to support the workers, created a Facebook group and used Twitter to inform the press and the Egyptian community about the strike.
Several students were disappointed by the results of the meeting on Sunday, saying workers should continue their strike until their demands are fully met, while others said that a prolonged strike would not help their case.
AUC political science student Gihan Ibrahim has been actively involved in the workers’ strike.
“Workers did not decide all of the sudden to strike, this was their last resort. As an AUC student, I fully support their rights and what they demand,” she said.
Before the recent salary cuts, AUC workers were reluctant to voice their concerns over fears that they would be fired.
“Yes, many workers were afraid, but now we fear nothing even after we discovered that we are under a three-month probation period according to the contracts we signed with AUC,” said janitor Doaa Mohamed.
“We have to think now at this moment to have the demands met,” said Ibrahim. “As a student, I will follow up with the workers to make sure that things are not sabotaged.”
The cost of moving
Conditions of AUC workers have significantly worsened since the move to the new campus in New Cairo, which has meant added expenses for the workers and longer working hours.
Inside the new campus, a fuul sandwich costs LE 3, as opposed to a 50 piaster sandwich back in the downtown campus in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. As compensation, the university provided daily meals for workers; however workers complained about the quality of the food.
Doaa Mohamed said that eating such meals was “very humiliating” for them. “It was hard to even look at the food,” she said. “There were [several] cases of food poisoning among us. Meals are supposed to be checked by the clinic, but this of course never happened.”
Many students claim that the university’s administration has been ignoring several concerns by both students and workers since the move, including transportation issues, cases of food poisoning and a lack of facilities.
“This time things are different; this is how workers earn their living,” said Ibrahim. “AUC teaches its students to respect humanity, so AUC should set the example.”
Brian MacDougall, AUC’s vice president for planning and services, previously told workers that there will be no salary increases before the start of fiscal year September 2011.
“AUC is committed to improving the salaries and benefits of its entire staff as a strategic priority of the university. We had previously communicated this to the university community and are going to follow through on this commitment as part of our overall plan for the current year and in planning for future years,” MacDougall told Daily News Egypt.
In an email sent to the AUC community on Sunday, Provost Lisa Anderson called on the workers to end their strike while negotiations are taking place.
“AUC will continue to address salary inequities systematically and will be as generous as possible, given our financial constraints,” said Anderson.
“We value our staff, as we do our students, faculty, and administrators, and we want AUC to be an institution with which they, like the rest of us, are proud to be associated. In the meantime, we encourage all involved to return to work as we continue to discuss these issues with the affected staff and their elected representatives,” the email read.
Many argue that the salaries of the workers match that of workers at other universities, but for this comparison to be sound it is important to look at the financial situation of AUC compared to other universities.
According to previous reports published by AUC’s weekly newspaper The Caravan, AUC’s finances have worsened since the move to the new campus and the global financial crisis, during which AUC reportedly lost money in the New York Stock Exchange.
According to AUC’s document 990 for Internal Revenue Services (IRS), total revenue for fiscal year 2008 (during the move to the new campus and the financial crisis) dropped 15 percent compared to fiscal year 2007. At the same time, total costs increased by 16 percent.
Furthermore, AUC owes an American bank a $100 million loan, which the university is committed to pay off in 2017 with $70 million interest.
AUC is forced to compensate for its financial losses, either by an increase in tuition fees or budget cuts.
“AUC’s financial position is one where we are operating with a financial deficit and so the decisions we make must be based on fact and the resources that are available,” said MacDougall.
