Hundreds of female employees from agriculture directorates in several governorates marched Monday to demand wages they say have been overdue for five years, walking from the Ministry of Agriculture in Dokki to the Agricultural Research Center in Giza, according to two employees who spoke to Al Manassa.
One of the employees said the march included workers from Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Beheira, and Kafr El-Sheikh, before culminating in an angry protest outside the Central Administration for Seed Inspection and Certification.
Videos reviewed by Al Manassa showed the protesters chanting, “Minister, tell the truth! Are we getting paid or not?” and “Raise your voice! The voice of truth will never die!” They also chanted, “Media, film us! Let the voice of truth be heard!”
The participants in Monday’s protest are among thousands of male and female employees who have worked on contracts for periods of up to 30 years in departments and projects affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture, including school nutrition, seed inspection and certification, agricultural mechanization, and afforestation.
Many have obtained court rulings ordering their appointment and the payment of overdue entitlements, but officials at the Agriculture and Finance ministries have delayed paying their wages and refused to implement those rulings, according to several protesters who spoke to Al Manassa.
One of the employees taking part in the protest said the women had not intended to organize a march but were forced to do so after police stationed around the Ministry of Agriculture in Dokki compelled them to end their sit-in.
Hundreds of male and female employees had staged a protest outside the ministry two weeks earlier and were promised a quick resolution, but those promises were not fulfilled, she added.
The crisis dates back years. Affected employees say some workers obtained court rulings in 2021 and 2022 ordering their appointment and payment of their dues, but their wages have still not been paid despite their regular attendance at work.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Agency for Organization and Administration have, according to the affected employees, shifted responsibility for the crisis among themselves without implementing the rulings or ensuring regular wage payments.
Last February, Ihab Mansour, deputy head of the House of Representatives’ Labor Committee and head of the parliamentary bloc of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, called for the salaries of Agriculture Ministry officials responsible for the workers’ suffering to be suspended.
He announced at the time that he had submitted a formal inquiry to the prime minister, the minister of agriculture and land reclamation, the head of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration, and the finance minister over the failure to pay the affected workers’ wages.
In an earlier interview with Al Manassa, Mansour said about 35,000 employees had been affected. They work under contract in various departments and projects affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture. He added that ministry officials disclosed that figure during a discussion of a formal inquiry he had previously submitted to parliament’s Agriculture Committee during the previous legislative term.
