Dozens of workers from the country’s courts and prosecution system protested outside the High Court on Sunday, calling for equality and financial demands.
Spokesperson of the General Union for Workers in the Prosecution and Courts Ihab Badr said the protest was organised by the union.
Chants included, “Minister of Justice, where are you? We are also your employees… we are demanding justice.” The protesters had furnished a long list of demands, published by the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, including the issuance of instructions to ensure the fair treatment of court employees by members of the judicial authority.
They also demanded greater involvement in the discussions on the judiciary law, especially the part of the law regarding court and prosecution employees.
In an effort to improve their financial conditions, the protesters sought to commit the Supreme Judicial Council to dispensing bonuses in sync with those provided to employees of the justice minister or heads of judicial bodies. The protesters are also demanding that their salaries be determined based on a unified scale, which would standardise the pay rate for given positions across all judicial bodies.
The employees have requested that their incentives be raised by 50% and their medical treatment allowance be nearly doubled.
Badr said the employees had previously raised their demands in February 2012, with most of them having going unmet in the interceding time.
He added that in response to Sunday’s protest, officials said that they will consider the demands for 15 days, but are not obligated to comply with them.
