Workers at the Ministry of Antiquities staged a protest outside the Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, blocking its doors and preventing tourists from entering in demand for better working conditions.

Archaeologists, administrative staff and security personnel, who are employed at the ministry, demanded permanent contracts, a restructuring of wages and a purge of the ministry from corruption, reported the state-owned news agency.

The Tourism Police tried to talk the protesters into ending their strike and opening the museum, asking them to head to the ministry headquarters and discuss their demands with the minister.

The Antiquities Minister responded by saying that he approves their demands and that he has already arranged for their implementation starting next month.

He stressed that his ministry depends on self-funding, which makes the financial changes hard due to the decrease of the number of tourists who visit the country.