Striking public transport workers in Cairo vowed to escalate their strike action after the president of their independent union, Tareq al-Beheiry and several colleagues were arrested on charges of ‘incitement to strike’.

The PTA workers are fighting for the return of the Public Transport Authority to Ministry of Transport control from the Governorate of Cairo, increases in pay and bonuses. The strike takes up demands raised in previous strikes, which the government has failed to meet.

Four garages were reported to be on all-out strike on 17 September with partial walkouts affecting the rest.

Meanwhile a senior official from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party attacked the strikers. “When workers of a vital service such as public transport decide to stop working, this is treason to the country,” he told Ahram Online on Monday.

What you can do:

• Write a letter of protest to the Egyptian embassy in your country calling for the immediate release of Tareq el-Beheiry and his colleagues
• Send messages of support to the PTA strikers using our solidarity toolkit