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Maximum wage law provokes concern in public telecoms sector Have caps on wage earnings hurt the public sector or are other features of the industry accountable?
Officials in the telecommunications sector are concerned that the recently-implemented maximum wage will prohibit Egyptian telecommunications companies from attracting competitive candidates to the public sector. The maximum wage law caps Egyptian salaries at EGP 42,000 a month, with some exceptions made for certain institutions. Concern within the telecommunications sector comes at a time when there are a number of major vacancies in telecommunications sector. Chairman and CEO of Raya Holding Medhat Khalil said the governmental ICT sector is facing a strong challenge as human resources flee to join the private sector, due to the maximum wage law. Khalil notes that salaries in the telecommunications sector are high abroad and in the private sector, especially in the Gulf, when compared to the Egyptian market. "Experts seek better opportunities," he added. An official at the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said the maximum wage law hinders the appointment of leaders to administrative authorities, noting that some officials refused to accept chair appointments, having already been earning the value of the maximum wage of EGP 42,000 but with fewer responsibilities. Minister of Communications Yasser Al-Qadi said the Egyptian market is full of experts, refusing to concede that the maximum wage law affects the appointment of officials. He highlighted his own experience leaving his chair as Regional Director for the Hewlett-Packard Company P to become a minister, saying that this is the second time he left the private sector to work for the government, the first of which was when he resigned from Cisco to head the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) previously. Al-Qadi added that the appointment of executives has been delayed because candidates are still within their contract periods with their current employers. The NTRA's executive position has been vacant since Hisham Elayly's contract ended in mid-2015. Further, ITIDA's executive position has also been vacant since Hussein El-Gueretly resigned in November.
