EGYPT: Strike bears fruit

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In an unexpected move, the government decided last Thursday to heed the demands of thousands of real estate tax collectors, who made front page news for ten days with their highly organized protest. After a ten-day sit in outside the cabinet headquarters, tax collectors forced the government to adjust their salary scales and raise their bonuses immediately.

The move took the nation by surprise as the government seemed too stubborn to give in for days. Earlier the finance minister made the government’s position clear by contending that nobody can “twist twists the arm of the government. Let them sleep in the streets if they want to.”

Thus, many observers contend that the sudden change of heart is an indication of the government’s weakness and a serious lack of political vision. The strike stands as a significant precedent that may encourage other state bureaucrats and professionals, who endure poverty, to take to the streets.

— Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo