Dozens of railway workers and conductors at Alexandria's Masr Station staged a sit-in on Monday in conjunction with a scheduled railway worker protest in Cairo to demand overdue bonuses.
Aside from the bonuses, which the workers said were approved a while back but have not yet been paid, sit-in participants also demanded the merger of long-distance and short-distance trains into one sector, saying such a move would help railway workers and conductors, as well as citizens.
The protesters threatened to block railways running between Cairo and Alexandria. The protest also delayed the arrival and departure of some trains, including train 912, which was scheduled to depart at 12 pm but left more than one hour behind schedule.
The protesters said their sit-in would continue until their demands have been met, and added that a delegation of the protesters had negotiated with railway officials.
The protesters said they are giving the government 48 hours to respond to their demands.
Meanwhile,Gebaly al-Maraghy, Chairman of Egypt Trade Union Federation, sent a letter to Prime Minister Hesham Qandil and Minister of Transportation Hatem Abdel Latif calling on them to sit with railway workers after he received news that the workers are planning a comprehensive strike.
The ETUF also issued a statement on Monday in which it expressed solidarity with the workers but also urged them not to protest until negotiations with the prime and transport ministers begin.
