CAIRO: A labor rights NGO is planning to file a case against the government following its failure to implement a May decree that awarded Information Centers for Local Development (ICLD) workers pay rises and pension and health insurance benefits.
In statements to independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm on Monday, Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) head Kamal Abbas said that attempts by the ministers and other government officials to “undermine” the May decree “reflects the extend of the government’s impotence.”
Under the May decree, the wages of ICLD employees with basic qualifications were raised from LE 99 to LE 320 per month, while the salaries of those with intermediate qualifications were increased to LE 381 per month.
The decree was issued only after a series of protests staged by ICLD workers outside parliament and the Cairo’s Cabinet Office.
In October, when pledges of back pay and wage increases linked to the May decree were not upheld, workers resumed protests — the most recent of which was last week at the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions (EFTU).
EFTU head Hussein Megawer told workers that a decision had been made to re-assign them as “rural community leaders,” which workers rejected.