Residents of Suez Governorate threatened Monday to begin staging protests against striking Postal Authority workers.
The residents demanded that the strikers return to work so they can deliver government pensions. All five of Suez Governorate’s post offices started an open strike Sunday, calling for pay raises and a change in leadership. Within the offices, only 6 locations are still working out of a total of 40.
The workers are demanding a 50% increase in wages and periodic raises of at least 7%. Zinab Ali, the secretary general of the Independent Union of Postal Authority Workers said the head of the Postal Authority and his aides earn a lucrative salary, while the rest of the workers earn next to nothing.
“I have been working with the authority for 27 years and up to this day my basic salary is EGP 700,” Ali said.
The strike, which began on 23 February, was suspended on 5 March after the Postal Authority promised to address workers’ demands during a board meeting on 13 March. No resolution was reached, however, so the workers continued their strike on 15 March.
“One of the main reasons we suspended the strike was to be able to give the people their pension in the beginning of the month,” Ali said. “We did not want to use the poor people as a means of escalation and pressure.”
