Qena railway station paralysed by strikes

Chaos hit Railways in Qena on Monday as workers declared a general strike condemning the transportation ministry's failure to yield to their demands. A state of confusion prevailed among the travelers and the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) refunded them for the cost of their tickets. The train movement in both directions was brought to a halt and the ERA incurred losses of around 10,000 pounds today, said Maher Zaki, who is responsible of Naga Hammadi railway station. The passengers were disgruntled because of the strike, he said, urging all officials to intervene to end the strike. Egypt's railway workers started a strike on Sunday, bringing train movement across the country to an almost complete halt. The strike began only hours after Transport Minister Hatem Abdel-Lateef approved a 10 percent hike in the bonuses routinely given to all railway workers. The raise was rejected by the train drivers and conductors as too little, sticking to their demands for a salary raise and a better bonus system.