Egypt rushes to calm workers amid riots
MAHALLA EL-KOBRA, Egypt - Egypt rushed yesterday to grant bonuses to workers after two days of deadly riots over high food prices and low wages racked this northern industrial city, fueling government fears that economic angst might boil over across the country.
A top United Nations official warned that many poor nations are in danger of such unrest as inflation heats up around the globe.
Rising prices have struck hard in Egypt, a US ally where 40 percent of the people live in or near poverty. This Nile Delta factory city has seen a wave of strikes for more than a year, and the anger exploded into rioting Sunday and Monday.
Protesters tore down a billboard of President Hosni Mubarak and fought with police in clashes that left one person dead in the worst unrest since Egypt's 1977 riots over increased bread prices.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif hurried to Mahalla al-Kobra yesterday with several top economic ministers to meet with workers at the 50-year-old, state-owned Misr Spinning and Weaving factory complex that employs 25,000 people.
"We know Mahalla is suffering and you have passed through many crises," Nazif told them. "But it is through crises that men prove their mettle."
He announced they would receive a bonus of 30 days' pay and promised to address their demands for better healthcare and higher wages. Workers in the hall cheered. But afterward, many were skeptical.
"What Nazif has said, we've heard it all before - what's new? They really have no idea how we suffer here," said Rashad Fathi, a factory worker who said his monthly wage of $34 was not enough to feed his four children.
The chief of UN humanitarian operations, John Holmes, said yesterday that poor people around the world are facing worsening hardship because of the expense of food. He said food prices had risen an average of 40 percent over the last year.
Egypt's economic woes overshadowed yesterday's municipal elections, in which voter turnout was meager. At polling stations in Cairo, only a few people were seen drifting in to cast ballots over several hours.
"Bread is getting more expensive. People are worried about that and most don't care about politics," said Medhat Abdel Nasser, a 20-year-old student who walked by a polling station in Cairo without a pause.
The government's soft approach to workers contrasted with its treatment of its top political competitor, the Muslim Brotherhood, which shocked authorities in 2005 with a strong showing in Parliament elections. Hundreds of Brotherhood members were arrested in recent months, and nearly 10,000 of its candidates were not allowed to run.
