3 - 9 September 1998
Issue No.393
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 3 - 9 September 1998 Issue No.393 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Writers' rights
The Writers' Union is about to close down due to lack of resources. The rights of its members are routinely violated. This crisis is the result of an arrangement whereby the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (RTU) is supposed to deduct from the writers' fees agreed-upon amounts and to pay them to the Writers' Union. But the RTU has failed to pay these amounts for several years now. No one has done anything to redress this odd situation, although such fraudulent dealings with the Writers' Union is hardly becoming of a state organisation.
Worst of all, the RTU has set a bad example, and provided private publishing houses with a precedent. These publishers have also started to deduct amounts from the writers' fees and, instead of handing them to the Writers' Union, have retained them, on the grounds that a state organisation is doing the same. Why be more royalist than the king? Amounts due to the Writers' Union are thus subtracted at the source, in accordance with a law enacted by the state. It is inconceivable, of course, that a state organisation like the RTU should violate such a law or even obstruct its implementation. And how can we expect private businesses to do otherwise? The Writers' Union is in desperate need of these funds, the disbursement of which is stipulated by the law. While its membership and activities have expanded, its dwindling resources mean that its social and literary activities could soon grind to a halt. I hope officials at the RTU will rectify their behaviour, which is so inconsistent with the attitude expected from such a respected organisation.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy. |