Egyptian Govt Sets Maximum Wage At 35 Times Minimum Wage

Egypt’s cabinet set the country’s maximum wage on Wednesday at 35 times the minimum wage of the employees working in the public sector, state-run news agency MENA reported.

According to the governmental decree, the maximum wage will be implemented as of January 2014 and its ceiling has been settled at LE42,000 per month.

Egypt’s ministers of finance and administrative development will be tasked with preparing the procedures of new wage limit.

Maximum wage has been an issue of contention since the then-ruling military council in 2011 decided to set a national maximum wage at 35 times the minimum wage of a low-level employee at the same government body.

In September, the Egyptian government set a long-awaited minimum wage for the public-sector employees at LE1,200, minus deductions for pensions and other items.

According to official data, the number of employees in the governmental sector increased by two percent in 2012/13 to reach 5.545 million, compared to 5.439 million one year earlier.

Source: SIS