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The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) called for better work conditions and legal rights for daily wage workers on Tuesday.
In a statement released on Tuesday, EIPR stated that daily wage workers at the Public Authority for Cultural Centres, part of the Ministry of Culture, are deprived of the basic rights guaranteed by Egyptian law and international agreements. Those rights include the right to social insurance, the right to health insurance, and the right to paid vacations.
The statement added that workers are deprived of the right to work permanently and the right to a safe working environment. Additionally, daily wage workers at other Ministry of Culture departments receive more benefits than their counterparts working for the Public Authority for Cultural Centres. These benefits include health insurance, better wages, and the possibility of signing permanent contracts, according to the statement.
The workers mentioned that competitions are held occasionally to grant some workers contracts. However, they claimed they were not notified of the recent contract competition. They added that workers from outside the authority obtained contracts that should have been awarded to internal candidates.
EIPR asserted that the current working conditions violate Egyptian law and called for granting the daily wage workers permanent contracts and health insurance, and for them to be treated equally to other workers.
