The minimum wage was raised today to 684 EGP (U.S. $115) monthly, a move affecting 1.9 million employees. The general budget includes the cost of reforming wages in the first phase of the new administration. Workers wages will be raised 200 percent of their previous value. Samer Radwa, former Minister of Economy, announced that the government raised the minimum wages to 700 EGP (U.S. $117) but that was before the budget deficit reached 120 billion EGP (U.S. $20.1 billion). The recent minimum wage hike costs 42 billion EGP (U.S. $7 billion), said Abdul Fatah Geballi, minister of economy. The first phase costs 9 billion EGP (U.S. $1.5 billion) annually, and therefore it is quite difficult to apply the new wage, considering the current economic climate. "Employees at the sixth salary level was 444 EGP (U.S. $74) monthly according to the former budget. It has been raised to 692 EGP (U.S. $116) as a result of the new budget raising reward motivation to 200 percent," said Salah Hykal, general of the Union of Engineering and Electrical Company and chairman of the Committee of Iron and Steel. The minimum wages for the private sector has not yet been raised. The council determining this raise delayed its meeting in order to review all complaints regarding wages.
