Following a four-day ”work slowdown” led by pilots at EgyptAir for higher wages and better working conditions, an agreement was reached between the parties to raise the pilots’ wages by 40 percent over a period of two years, according to privately-owned al-Masry al-Youm.
The wage increases will be implemented in two phases, the first of which will begin in July with a 22 percent raise, while the second will see wages increase by 18 percent, beginning in July 2017.
All employees at the EgyptAir Holding Company will also see their salaries raised by 15 percent.
A pilot speaking to privately-owned Daily News Egypt said they had not officially gone on strike, but have instead taken out sick leaves and vacations in order to avoid any legal responsibility associated with refraining from doing their work.
A number of domestic and international flights have been delayed or cancelled since the strike began. The striking pilots reportedly apologized for the delays and cancellations, saying they were “overworked, sick and exhausted,” according to Aswat Masriya.
“The salaries in EgyptAir, compared to other private and international companies, are very low. Unlike what is being said on the media, these salaries are not as high as what people think,” one of the pilots told Daily News Egypt. He said that the pilots decided to ”slow down work” in order to raise their salaries.
The delays included flights traveling to Istanbul, Beirut, Amsterdam, Malpensa, Kuwait, Berlin and Doha, sources at Cairo Airport told Youm7.
Pilots at EgyptAir have on numerous occasions protested over lousy working conditions and low wages. In May 2015, over a third of the company’s pilots resigned but later withdrew their resignations in response to calls by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. In June 2013, EgyptAir pilots went on strike demanding better pay and working conditions.
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