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Cairo: Encouraged by what they describe as a high turnout for their first nationwide strike, teachers at government-run universities have threatened "more escalating actions" unless their demands for better pay and working conditions are met.
"This strike was the first in a series of steps that could culminate in boycotting the supervision and marking of the year-end examinations," said Tareq Al Desouki, the spokesman for a strike co-ordination committee.
He said around 60 per cent of professors went on the strike held on Sunday. "This strike was the first of its kind in Egypt universities. Therefore, we expected a small number of strikers. But the turnout was beyond our expectations," Desouki told Gulf News.
Professors say that their salaries have remained unchanged since 1972 and cannot cope with spiraling prices. In a statement released by the Egyptian University Staff Club, an independent union, a copy of which was obtained by Gulf News, its members demanded the doubling of their present salaries, an increase in government spending on universities and the creation of a supplementary fund for teaching staff pensions. They also demanded an end to what they say as interference by the security agencies in university affairs.
Days before the March 23 strike, Prime Minister Ahmad Nadif met a delegation of university professors and promised wage increases in the form of allowances. The offer was turned down by striking professors, who demanded a substantial increase in their basic salaries. How much a civil servant earns in Egypt largely depends on his basic salary. Starting salaries for assistant professors in government-run universities is hardly LE500 ($90).
Egypt has recently been hit by a wave of labour protests against low wages. Other professionals threatening strikes include doctors and veterinarians. The Egyptian government is apparently unwilling to respond to protesters' demands lest other employees would follow suit.
"The Government holds university teaching staff in high regard and is keen to provide all favourable conditions for them to do their job," said Hany Helal, the Minister of Higher Education, who oversees the country's state-owned universities. "The Prime Minister has agreed to raise their salaries starting from July. But those who called for the strike promote a certain agenda, which does not care about their students' best interests," the official said in press remarks.
"While I am upset that my professors have to go on strike, I feel sympathetic with their demands," said Hamed Sadallah, a law student at Cairo University, Egypt's largest and oldest. "How can a professor do his job well while he is unable to feed his children? This bodes ill for the future of education in this country," Sadallah told Gulf News.
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