Customs officers’ strike over pay raise paralyzes Algiers port, airport

Customs officers’ strike on Wednesday paralyzed the port general department, the airport and two inspection departments in Algiers by 80 percent.

• Customs officers in the port of Algiers joined the protesting movement and staged a sit-in out of the sub-department of customs in the port.
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• The protesters shouted slogans condemning the “unfair” compensation system and the administration’s propaganda about false pay raise.
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• They asked for better professional and social conditions.
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• A total of 80 percent of customs officers stopped working in loading station in the international airport of Algiers.
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• Secretary General of the Algiers port union and member of Customs National Federation Kamel Ramdani told journalists the new payslip surprised the officers.
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• He said the real pay raise was estimated at 40 percent only, denouncing this “misleading” practice.
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• The protesters are asking authorities to revise their statute and the last compensation system, to work in transparency in hiring people and improve customs officers’ working conditions.