Cairo Newspaper Reports: Employees of Egypt's public banks in revolt on Sunday with mass protests!

[Better Believe It]

Employees of Egypt's public banks in revolt
The staff of Egypt's largest public banks protest at their headquarters on Sunday, demanding wage restructuring and transparency
By Salma Hussein
February 13, 2011

"The bank.. wants.. the chairman down", the chant, inspired by the 25 January Egyptian revolution, was well heard on the Nile Cornish Sunday morning. Some 2000 employees of the National Bank of Egypt are gathered at the entrance of the giant headquarters of the country's biggest bank.

The employees of the unlisted government-owned bank are contesting the board of directors system. "Wages vary tremendously. The board appointed young inexperienced fresh graduates with monthly salaries that start at LE30,000, much more than what middle management get," cried out one of the protestors who has been working for the bank for 15 years.

Protestors' numbers kept increasing throughout the day. The bank's gates were closed to prevent workers inside the HQ from joining the protest.

Not so far, in Downtown, in front of the headquarters of another grandiose building, Banque Misr, Egypt's second largest bank, the same scene unfolded. The gates are closed, with hundreds also gathered, many waving a printed list of demands. The statement of the "Banque Misr employees revolution", of which Ahram Online received a copy, suggests that firing these advisors would allow the redistribution of their salaries to the benefit of the underpaid regular staff.

Read the full article at:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/3/12/5501/Business/Economy/Employees-of-Egypts-public-banks-in-revolt.aspx