Workers in Damietta protest rising prices

Joel Gulhane
2 Min Read
Nearly 2000 workers in Damietta protested rising prices affecting their livelihoods on Sunday (Photo Courtesy of 6 April Damietta)
Nearly 2000 workers in Damietta protested rising prices affecting their livelihoods on Sunday (Photo Courtesy of 6 April Damietta)
Nearly 2000 workers in Damietta protested rising prices affecting their livelihoods on Sunday
(Photo Courtesy of 6 April Damietta)

Approximately 2,000 workers in the port town Damietta marched from the Chamber of Commerce building to the office of the governor to express their anger against rising prices.

Mohammed Abu Samra, the coordinator of the Damietta branch of the 6 April Youth Movement said: “The workers are all angry about the rising prices of raw materials. They are finding it hard to work because of the rising prices.” Abu Samra said that 6 April marched in solidarity with the carpenters and upholsterers, adding that “the economic situation in Egypt has caused many problems for these people”.

The protesters marched to the governorate building where they chanted, calling for fairer prices. “The governor, General Mohamed Ali Feleifel, came out and spoke to the protesters and assured them that their concerns have been heard and will be discussed,” Abu Samra said.

Damietta, the capital of the governorate by the same name, is an important port town and is home to a number of factories making goods for both the domestic and international market.

Egypt has seen a hike in prices recently with inflation rising by 8.2% in March 2013 compared to March 2012, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics.

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Joel Gulhane is a journalist with an interest in Egyptian and regional politics. Follow him on Twitter @jgulhane
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