Mohamed Saftawy, president of the Independent Post Union, said strikes at post offices nationwide exceeded 90 percent of post workers. “We received several complaints that our employees were assaulted by the public for closing the offices,” he said, adding that the Cairo and Giza offices also joined the strike.
He also said that security forces had to disperse the public with tear gas after they gathered outside the Mahalla office in protest.
The employees are demanding the resignation of the president of the postal service and all his advisers. They also requested that postal authorities report directly to the Cabinet.
Other demands include adding a 7 percent bonus to the basic salary, a 50 percent incentive to compensate for the government’s failure to apply a minimum wage, deducting the days of the strike from the annual leave and a promise not to prosecute the leaders of the workers who called for the strike.
