Summary of Observations
I visited the ONA News Agency in Mohandeseen, Cairo, Egypt with the aim of conducting research on the labor economics at the News Agency and the various patterns of income, wages, and employment among the workers in the News Agency. The agency has different workers ranging from the Agency employees and journalists to other workers like janitors, office assistants/boys, and security boys whose terms of employment, conditions of work and the compensation and remuneration they receive for their labor differ.
I was able to interview three workers in the News Agency and managed to collect valuable data from them. The three workers included a journalist, a janitor, and a security worker. The three were chosen due to the fact that they represent three different departments in the News Agency which are all subject to different working conditions, terms of employment as well as compensation.
The journalist’s work environment was modern and comfortable with facilities like parking spaces, clean restrooms, and lounges with refreshments, television, and couches. The journalists were also employed on a contract basis with health care, paid leave, job security and other perks. The janitor and the security worker, on the other hand, were employees of two different companies outsourced by the News Agency to provide cleaning and security services. Their terms of employment were subject to the contract entered into by their parent company and not the News Agency. As a result, both the janitor and the security worker did not have job safety and could be transferred to other undertakings with or without notice; they had no opportunities for promotion and salaries and remuneration were low and fixed regardless of the hard work that any of the workers put in. They both had no perks or benefits but were provided with the adequate cleaning and security work equipment they required. Their lounge and rest areas were separate from the journalists in a more dingy and run down part of the building.
Interpretations
The government and society have much more regard for the more noble professions than for the people who provide essential services like the security workers, janitors and office boys. There is a major distinction between the two professions, the most noticeable one being the fact that the journalists are regarded as employees while the others are referred to as workers as support staff. The working conditions are also quite different with those is esteemed professions subject to raises while the janitors and security workers subject to the minimum wage set by the government.
There was an equal proportion of men and women journalists and technicians working in the News Agency while among the support staff, the janitors were female and the office boys and security workers were male. The janitor and security worker both reported instances in which they or their colleagues were involved in altercations with the Agency employees for various reasons. The major complaint was that the workers are ostracized, treated as inferior and constantly subjected to humiliation. They are unable to defend themselves due to their low positions and the fact that their supervisors and employers are not within the vicinity and only receive reports from the Agency’s human resource manager which is never in their favor. Hence, the workers do their best to stay out of the other employee’s way when performing their functions.
Implications
Reforms have to be implemented with regards to the working conditions as well as the remuneration of workers like janitors, security workers, office boys, messengers and so on. Since they provide essential services and create a clean and sustainable working environment, they should be adequately and proportionately rewarded. The companies that outsource services should have better channels and means of addressing the plights and complaints of their employees.
