CAIRO (AP) 鈥� BBC鈥檚 staff in Cairo went on a three-day strike Monday to demand equal pay with other colleagues in the Middle East as Egypt鈥檚 economic crisis deepens further.
According to Khaled el-Balshy, the strikers鈥� spokesperson and head of Egypt鈥檚 journalism union, the 75 staff members from the broadcaster鈥檚 Cairo bureau are demanding to be paid in dollars 鈥� like other BBC employees in the region, including in Beirut and Istanbul.
The walkout is to end on Wednesday.
Over the past year, the Egyptian pound has lost over 50% of its value against the dollar, with annual inflation reaching 36.8% in June, up from 33.7% recorded in May. The country's economy is reeling from years of government austerity measures, the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from the Ukraine war. Egypt is a top wheat importer from Russia and Ukraine.
El-Balshy posted on Facebook that the BBC staff in Egypt consider the disparity in pay as a form of 鈥渟ystematic discrimination.鈥� They had earlier asked for their salaries to be re-evaluated in light of the Egyptian pound's depreciation but this request was first ignored before 鈥渕eagre increases鈥� were eventually offered.
The BBC said the broadcaster was aware of Egypt's economic situation and has been planning 鈥渋ncreasing salaries by 27% between March and July this year to mitigate the levels of high inflation in the country.鈥� The statement did not elaborate.
El-Balshy told The Associated Press the strikers may consider legal action and extending the walkout if their demands are not met. Last month, the BBC Cairo staff held a one-day strike over unequal pay.
BBC staff declined to comment on the walkout and referred media questions to el-Balshy, who was to hold a news conference on the industrial action on Wednesday.
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This story has been corrected throughout to show that the spelling of the family name of the strikers鈥� spokesperson and head of Egypt鈥檚 journalism union is el-Balshy.
The Associated Press
