Pay and protests in the tourism sector
Although el-Shaer attributed his anxieties in this respect to information he received from journalists, his accusation was correct in part. Nor did the minister have any good reason to express displeasure at el-Shaer’s concerns.
Organising peaceful demonstrations is one of the chief tasks of trade unions anywhere. These protests are part of pressure-mounting mechanisms on the employer to successfully negotiate better working conditions, pay rises, etc.
The dispute over who should be blamed for the post-Revolution demonstrations broke out during discussions held by the Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Federation Elhami el-Zayat to discuss the government’s pledge to increase an employee’s basic salary to LE 700 per month.
The meeting was also attended by the deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hazem el-Biblawi, the Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour; and the Chairman of the Central Agency for Organisation and Management Safwat el-Nahas. Taking part in the discussions, as well, were representatives of federation and the Egyptian Hotel Association.
To support his arguments, el-Shaer played a video recording angry employees ransacking a hotel in Hurghada. Panic-stricken tourists fled their rooms as the employees ran amok and destroyed anything in their way.
It was apparent that these violent scenes did not influence the Minister of Labour, who refused to comment or utter any word of disapproval. Nor was the Chairman of the General Syndicate of the Tourist and Hotel Employees more forthcoming than the minister. Neither of these two officials ordered that the saboteurs should be disciplined and held responsible for the huge damage inflicted to the hotel.
These employees should have been harshly reprimanded for undermining the image of their country. Such violent acts must undoubtedly have reduced the image of the Egyptian people in the eyes of the hundreds of tourists, who were witnessing the mayhem. These attackers should not escape with impunity, given that their identities are recorded on the video film.
It was ridiculous that the chairman of the Chairman of the General Syndicate of Tourist and Hotel Employees should calmly shrug his shoulders and attribute the mayhem in the hotel in Hurghada to the absence of a trade union in the facility.