Egyptian Customs Officials To Strike At 8 Ports On June 4

A group of Egyptian customs officials say they will strike on Tuesday to demand the reform of the Egyptian Customs Authority.

Workers in eight locations, including Cairo International Airport, have said they will participate.

According to a statement sent to the media, customs workers in five airports (Cairo, Borg El-Arab, Luxor, Assiut and Sohag) and three ports (Safaga, Nuweiba and Hurghada) confirmed they will protest on Tuesday.

Workers demand a change of corrupt senior officials, as well as a revision of the bonus system and more privileges for employees working in remote areas.

“Since January 25, employees in Egyptian customs call for the reform and the dismissal of corrupted; but the government insists on maintaining the status quo,” said the employees’ statement.

Officials from the customs authority could not be reached for comment.

Custom employees highlighted in their statement an incident that took place in the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, last week when some deputies called customs employees “corrupt.”

The workers criticised the head of the customs authority, who assisted the discussions of the Council and declined to defend the employees.

Customs employees in Cairo Airport held a partial strike on 15 May.

Ahram Online