CAIRO: Egypt's government said on Monday that they were looking at a maximum wage 36 times that of the minimum wage, a move that could see activists angered over the growing class divides in the country. “We expect a higher minimum wage and a maximum wage somewhere around 15 times that of the lowest wage to be offered,” said workers advocate Mohamed Helmy. He believes that the 36 times rate will enable the minimum wage to be set lower than hoped. “It is worrying that it is being proposed so high, which means the lower the minimum wage, top owners could still bring in a massive salary,” he added. Hazem al-Beblawy, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance, said in comments that wages would be set by an equation accounting for average inflation and an average wage growth of 10 percent annually over a 38-year career at a cabinet meeting concerning the disparity in government wages. The equation would allow wages to reach 36 times the minimum wage, he said. Cabinet spokesman Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy said the cabinet agreed to form a committee to study the status of wages and propose a new framework to remove disparities and contradictions in the law. The committee is expected to complete the study within 6 months. A 700 Egyptian pounds ($117) minimum wage was set by the government on July 1. BM
