Workers demand better pay as military urges a return to normalcy
Protestors continue to demonstrate in Egypt, even as Hosni Mubarak has stepped down from the presidency and the military council has dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution. Police joined hundreds of bank, transport and tourism workers in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand better pay, vowing to “honour the martyrs of the revolution,” even after the military had cleared protestors out of the square on Sunday. The tourism sector alone accounts for 6 per cent of Egypt’s GDP, and has been hit hard during the unrest throughout the country. The military council has urged all Egyptians to return to work after 18 days of mass protests sent Egypt into civil chaos, crippling its economy and resulting in the deaths of over 300 people. It has also committed to overseeing a peaceful transition in government for six months or until elections are called, and has said that the peace treaty with Israel will be kept.