Hundreds of employees from public sector companies and government institutions staged a protest on Sunday in front of the temporary government headquarters in Nasr City, Cairo to call for the ouster of corrupt leaders, permanent contracts and the payment of overdue financial entitlements.
The protesting workers — from Al-Nasr Steam Boilers, Damanhour Carpets and the Social Fund for Development as well as from some oil companies — gathered in front of the General Authority for Investment, the government’s temporary headquarters, and demonstrated amid tight security.
The protesters called for Prime Minister Ganzouri to intervene to solve their problems, while others chanted against Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab's "wrong policies."
Some cabinet employees calmed the protesters and asked them to choose a group to meet with Ganzouri, who was in a meeting to discuss ways to encourage investment.
Ganzouri is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss ways to expand the participation of Egyptian companies in the reconstruction of Iraq and methods to increase Egyptian trade with Iraq.
Al-Ahram newspaper, meanwhile, said the meeting was to discuss the demands put forward by Egyptian companies in order to compete for tenders for the reconstruction of Iraq.
Ganzouri has been holding his cabinet meetings at the General Authority for Investment since his cabinet was sworn in on 7 December after protesters opposed to his appointment staged a sit-in in front of the cabinet building on Qasr al-Aini Street.
The protesters relocated their sit-in to Tahrir following a brutal crackdown by the military that left at least 17 people dead.
Although traffic is flowing normally through Tahrir Square, with only a few protesters in its central garden, security forces have so far kept Qasr al-Aini and other side streets closed to traffic.
Tranlslated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
