The Egyptian government is considering a proposal to increase financial incentives offered to workers, especially those in the public sector, in an effort to preempt labor strikes and sit-ins in the run-up to presidential elections slated for September. Some 320,000 workers are employed by the public sector.
Government sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the proposal had been submitted by the Ministry of Manpower and Immigration and the state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF). The same sources explained that the proposal aims to offset mounting frustration among Egypt's laborers.
The new incentives will be offered to employees of struggling industries that employ large numbers of workers, such as those in the spinning /weaving and metals/engineering industries, the sources noted.
According to General Union of Agriculture Workers Chairman Mohammed Abdel Halim, as of next month, the ETUF plans to step up its presence at labor unions across the country until the conclusion of September's presidential elections.
Abdel Halim, who is also the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)‘s secretary for labor affairs, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the ETUF had raised its profile among workers in an effort to prevent workers' grievances from being “exploited by opposition groups and movements as a means of destabilizing the country."
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
