Postal workers in Addis Ababa went on a one-day strike on Wednesday (May 8), to protest that their demands for the dismissal of seven senior officials had not been met. More than 800 postal workers ended a four-day strike on April 26 after some of their demands had been met and they had been told the rest would be fulfilled within a month.

The postal workers were demanding higher pay and also the removal of allegedly corrupt the incompetent officials.

The workers registered their disapproval over the authorities' failure to dismiss the officiously by not eating during their normal lunch-break.

The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Lieutenant-General Asefa Ayene, is being held by the armed forces with other minister of the former Government and has had difficulty dealing with the demands of the capital's postal workers. The reasons for General Asefa Ayene's arrest have not yet been clarified.