Egyptian BBC journalists in Cairo end three-day strike, accuse company of discrimination

The local BBC staff in Cairo concluded on Wednesday evening a three-day strike, which they launched in protest against their low salaries and alleged discriminatory measures by the company amid the deteriorating living conditions and the ongoing economic crisis in Egypt.

During a press conference held outside the BBC bureau in Cairo, journalists' syndicate head Khaled El-Balshy reiterated the demand of 75 staff members for their salaries to be paid in US dollars "to balance the lowered value of the local currency."

The Egyptian pound has fallen more than 50 per cent of its value against the US dollar following several controversial economic measures the government took.

Egypt's annual headline inflation climbed in May to hit 33.7 per cent compared to 15.3 per cent in the same month of the previous year.  

One US dollar is valued at 30.95 Egyptian pounds at the time of publishing.

The BBC headquarters in London had earlier said in an official statement that "an increase of salaries by 27 per cent between March and July this year have been made to mitigate the levels of high inflation in the country."

However, Balshy told reporters, "Such a raise is insufficient given the dire economic situation in Egypt."

This week's strike was the second in almost a month; the first was held for one day on 14 June.

The BBC has offices in 44 countries and 58 cities and has taken measures to resolve similar crises in other regional bureaus.

Balshy, perhaps the first independent union leader in Egypt's history in decades, accused the British broadcaster of carrying out "discriminatory measures" against the Cairo staff compared to the foreign nationals working in the country and other local staff members at offices in cities in other countries such as Beirut and Istanbul.

The BBC Cairo journalists, meanwhile, declined to comment, delegating Balshy to be their official spokesman and negotiator, who threatened to take escalation measures without further elaborating.