Train drivers strike continued for the second day, in the state-run Egyptian Railway Authority, in protest to “government neglect of their demands for higher salaries.”
An official source at the National Railway Authority estimated its losses at about LE4 million, after the cancellation of nearly 1,100 train trips, and refunding passengers the value of their tickets.
Since the start of the strike, passengers have been lining up at ticket booths to get their money back, while the transportation police forces spread around stations to secure the facilities and calm angry crowds.
Director of the National Railway Authority Hussein Zakariya announced an “an immediate bonus to committed train drivers who are doing their job and care for the interests of the Railway Authority and ordinary citizens.”
Legal action will be taken against striking train drivers, Zakariya said. The Railway Authority has made several attempts to overcome the crisis, including refunding tickets and guiding passengers to alternative means of transportation. The authority sought to hire some Metro drivers, but they refused out of solidarity with the demands of the train drivers.
Striking drivers demand extra bonus, like other workers for the Railway Authority, who get the bonus although their work is less dangerous, in addition to other financial demands and eight days paid holiday per month.
Edited translation from MENA
