The National Wage Council (NWC) announced on Monday 28 June the raising of the minimum wage of private-sector employees from EGP 2,000 to EGP 2,400 per month effective January 2022. NWC also added in its announcement that a periodic bonus would be handed to workers for the fiscal year of 2021/2022 at a value of three percent of the worker’s insurance. This is expected to be a minimum of EGP 60 and is also equivalent to seven percent of the basic wage according to the Labor Law No. 12 of 2003. Hala El-Said, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, stated that the decision to raise the minimum wage, and to add a periodic bonus, takes into account the challenges workers have been facing since the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on workplaces. The statement highlighted that private firms affected by this decision are allowed to file a complaint until October 2021 to NWC’s committee of complaints and wages. According to ISPI, COVID-19 had put the private sector in Egypt in a rapid contraction phase; meaning it was declining, which increased the unemployment rate. However, the Economic Research Forum…
