Members of the National Union of Journalists in Britain and Ireland handed leaflets to BBC staff as they arrived at work at New Broadcasting House in central London. A flyer was even thrust into the hands of Director General Tim Davie.
The leaflet carried a message from Khaled El Belshy, President, Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate. “Our main demand is to peg their salaries to US dollars, backdated to February 2022 prior to the sharp devaluation of the Egyptian pound. We are demanding nothing but a fair wage to ensure BBC colleagues in Cairo can make ends meet when the current inflation is cutting so deeply in to their livelihood. We will continue fighting relentlessly to make the BBC negotiate seriously”.
IFJ Treasurer, Jim Boumelha, who attended the protest said: “The seriousness of our Egyptian colleagues plight is obvious from their willingness to take strike action. Inflation has ravaged the value of wages for these journalists. BBC management needs to find ways to reward them for their hard work and ensure that they can continue to put bread on their tables”.