Egypt's cabinet moves to placate workers with 15% pay increase

DURING ITS first session the newly installed Egyptian cabinetyesterday announced a 15 per cent pay rise for the country's sixmillion public servants in order to boost the government's standing.Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, meanwhile, continued to demandthe removal of the President Hosni Mubarak.

Minister for finance Samir Radwan said $960 million ([euro]707million) would be allocated to cover salary and pension incrementswhich are set to take effect in April. Public sector employees have,traditionally, been staunch supporters of the regime. But in recentyears their salaries have fallen in real terms as prices have risen,compelling the authorities to announce periodic increments.

But the increase did not impress low-paid employees orpensioners. A doctor who qualified in the west said his pension wasabout $40 a month, while one elderly man taking part in the Tahrir(Liberation) Square protests said his was $15 a month.

The cabinet decision follows pledges announced by vice-presidentOmar Suleiman on Sunday to investigate corruption, and vote riggingduring last November's parliamentary election. The government alsosaid it would free Wael Ghonim, a marketing manager for Google. Hewas arrested on January 27th for playing a prominent role ininternet communications that sparked the mass protest movement whichhas taken Egypt and the region by storm.

Mr Suleiman's meeting with opposition groups included 10 formerregime stalwarts, independents and representatives of traditionalpolitical parties. These included the liberal Wafd Party which hasbeen discredited for collaborating with the regime for decades.

For the outlawed, but tolerated, Muslim Brotherhood the meetingwith the vice-president was recognition of its importance on thepolitical scene.

The brotherhood, which commands support of perhaps 10 to 15 percent of the people, has been demonised by the West as a potentialkingmaker in Egypt and the font of Islamist political activism.However, most Egyptians dismiss the notion that a Muslimfundamentalist regime modelled on that of Iran could emerge if MrMubarak's secular government is ousted.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair warned yesterday thatthe brotherhood had to be "treated with caution".

However, he added that it was not an extremist group or one benton imposing a "religious autocracy" on Egypt. For decades secularArab regimes have exploited western fears of the brotherhood asjustification for its suppression.

In Tahrir Square protesters continued their vigil, demanding thedismissal of Mr Mubarak as the price for vacating the heart of thecapital. Hundreds have taken up residence in half a dozenencampments, while vendors sell them tea, roasted sweet potatoes,popcorn and cigarettes from their stalls.