Egypt anger at military ban on strikes

Egyptians are mad once more. This time it is the military’s ban on general strikes that have the country frustrated and angry. After 18 days of protests, combined with the obvious strikes at companies, activists are crying foul over the military rulers banning strikes in the country, in what many are saying is a return to Mubarak-era politics.

Hundreds of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday, defying military orders and demanded that their voices and desires be heard. They were continuing calls for higher wages, better services and were out strong fighting against the order to forbid strikes. Most protesters told Bikya Masr that the military cannot continue to follow former President Hosni Mubarak’s tactics without being held accountable.

“We took down one leader who treated us like slaves who would just follow whatever orders he gave and whatever violent tactics he called for, but now we, as Egyptians say enough is enough,” said one protesters, who identified himself as Tarek.

Workers from across the capital, Cairo, and throughout the country were out, demanding the military take them seriously. They want the country’s new military rulers to implement measures and ensure ending of the autocratic system, which has pervaded Egypt for the past three decades. They also remain wary of the military’s ultimate intentions.

The workers did not appear concerned at the growing worries many top officials and analysts have been warning over the continued fallout of the country’s economy from the ousting of Mubarak. They said their lives were more important that investment.

“We have struggled for so long and the government then and now doesn’t seem willing to make our living situation better. We have families and children and need to get on the right path,” began Amr Abu Saleh, a factory worker from the Nile Delta region north of Cairo. “This is our future and we are going to be here and on the streets no matter what because it is the right thing to do.”

Egypt’s economy has already taken a massive hit from the 18 days of mass protests, which finally drove Mubarak from power.

The country’s tourism industry has also come to a standstill since hundreds of thousands of tourists fled during the Egyptian revolution.

The mass exodus of tourists wrecked one of Egypt’s main foreign currency sources. The stock market was closed for more than two months, and Egypt’s currency took a pummeling in the weeks after the revolution before the Central Bank stepped in to prop it up.

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