CAIRO: An Administrative Court ruled Tuesday that the government must set a minimum wage. The ruling issued on Tuesday obliges Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Minister of Economic Development Osman Mohamed Osman, also head of the National Wages Council. The council was created in 2003 with the task of putting in place a minimum wage in line with the cost of living — a mandate it has yet to fulfill seven years later. The council's failure to do this was addressed in the case raised by the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR). In a press statement issued Tuesday, the ECESR described the verdict as “historic,” adding that ECESR lawyers had submitted to the court studies affirming that increasing wages within the state's current budget is possible. Council member Abdel Fattah El-Gebali is quoted by state news portal egynews.net as saying that “government employees on tier six have a minimum wage of no less than LE 430 in line with price hikes and inflation indexes,” adding that raises are given periodically. Tuesday's ruling comes three days before a mass protest by independent trade union organizations and labor rights groups against privatization policies pursued in Egypt that will also call for a minimum wage of LE 1,200.
