Egypt – At least six labour leaders from the Transport Authority were arrested yesterday after calls were made for a strike, which was scheduled to start today to demand financial entitlements.
“Police arrested several labour leaders, at around 6 am on Saturday,” an employee who asked to remain anonymous said, “Transport Authority employees do not know the charges against their colleagues and could not get a lawyer yet.”
Police deployed at some of the garages in Cairo to try to contain the strike and control it.
Tarek al-Behairy, one of the arrested leader said on Friday that the National Security asked to meet the leaders of the strike on Saturday morning to negotiate on strike.He predicted then that the security will promise to implement some of their demands, but he was also afraid that he might be arrested along with his colleagues.
A number of activists and labour leaders expressed Solidarity with the arrested workers on social media, activist Khalil Rizk said that the police provoke workers and that could cause the escalation of the strike
Public transportation workers had made several demands, including increasing production bonuses by up to 17 percent of current rates, as well as increasing other types of bonus.
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