Egypt's budget would increase by 1.25-1.5 billion Egyptian Pounds ($168.8 million) if the parliament approves the amendment to the civil services bill boosting annual wage increases to 7 percent up from the previous 5 percent, Finance Minister Amr Al-Garhy was quoted as saying by state-news agency MENA on Tuesday. The parliamentary committee for manpower agreed on Monday to boost the annual wage raise to 7 percent, up from 5 percent initially proposed in the bill. The Ministry of Planning had resent the amended bill to the legislature after it was voted down by the parliament earlier this year. The proposed bill had cut the annual bonus to 7 percent from 10 per cent of the basic salary. The bill also adjusted the basic salary to increase to up to 80 percent of the total income, to fix the current scheme where most of an employee's income comes from bonuses and incentives. Wages are projected to reach 228 billion Pounds in the state budget bill for the fiscal year starting July. Egypt's annual core inflation, used to measure the level of prices after excluding the volatile cost commodities such fruits and vegetables, hit a seven-year high in May jumping to 12.2 percent in May up from 9.5 percent the previous month. source: Ahram Online
