Strikes planned next month. Source: The Majalla.

In a bid to combat mandatory training procedures and gain fairer treatment from the Ministry of Tourism, members of Egypt’s Tourist Guide Union will strike in mid-November.

The planned boycott will take place on the 15, 16 and 17 November.

The union is against its members paying for compulsory training in order to renew their tour guide licenses.

“We aren’t against the idea of the training but we refuse to pay so much money for obligatory and illegal training when we’ve been suffering from unemployment following the January 2011 revolution,” Tourist Guide Union secretary general Hisham Al-Shattury said.

The union has also called for health insurance coverage, the employment of Egyptian foreign language guides and representation at international conferences.

“We’ve knocked on all doors with our demands, only to be met with silence, even though our demands require no money,” Mr Al-Shattury said.