Urgent.. The National Wage Council decides to raise the minimum wage for workers in the private sector from next January

The National Wages Council met under the chairmanship of Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, in the presence of Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, and Dr. Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, Hassan Shehata, Minister of Labour, Major General Khairat Barakat, Head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, and Dr. Saleh Al-Sheikh, head of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration, and representatives of labor unions and employers’ organizations, to discuss raising the minimum wage for workers in the private sector, and determining the periodic annual bonus for workers in the private sector, for the calendar year 2024. The Council approved increasing the minimum wage for workers in the private sector to 3,500 pounds. This is without exceptions, as well as an annual periodic bonus for workers in the private sector, of no less than 3% of the insurance subscription wage, with a minimum of 200 pounds, as the annual periodic bonus for the year 2023 was a minimum of one hundred pounds. These new decisions will be implemented as of From next January 2024.

For her part, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Head of the National Wage Council, confirmed that the minimum wage for workers in the private sector increased from 2,400 pounds in January 2022, rising to 2,700 pounds in January 2023, then rising again to 3,000 pounds in July 2023, then 3,500 starting in 2024, stressing that the government is keen to achieve a balance in the interests of both sides of production, the employer and the worker, especially in light of the current challenges. It is also keen, at a time when it seeks to preserve the rights and gains of workers, and provide them with a decent life, and is also keen to Stability of establishments and achieving the highest productivity to serve the development process witnessed by the country. The Minister indicated that increasing the minimum periodic bonus by 100% over last year targets low-wage segments, as this amount is close to 10% of the insurance wage, which is an unprecedented percentage.

The meeting witnessed an explanation from Dr. Hanan Nazir, advisor to the Council, about the mechanism for calculating wages and increase rates, as well as calculating the periodic bonus. The Council also decided to exempt a number of civil society organizations from applying the minimum wage based on the request of Dr. Nevin Al-Qabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity.

The meeting of the National Wages Council was attended by Mr. Kamal Nasr, Assistant Minister of Planning for Technical Office Affairs, Dr. Muhammad Al-Aqabi, Media Advisor to the Minister of Planning, Advisor Shadi Musa, Advisor to the National Wages Council, Engineer Muhammad Zaki Al-Suwaidi, President of the Federation of Industries – via video -, and Mr. Muhammad Abd Allah, a member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Commerce – here is the video -, and Mr. Alaa Al-Soqati, President of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprise Associations, and Dr. Muhammad Al-Fayoumi, Secretary General of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, and Dr. Alaa Ezz, First Undersecretary of the Ministry, Secretary-General of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Liwaa Hossam El-Shahawy, Executive Director-General of the Egyptian Federation of Investors’ Associations and Institutions, Engineer Mohamed Sami Saad, President of the Egyptian Federation of Construction and Building Contractors, and a delegation of representatives of the General Federation of the Egyptian Trade Union, headed by Mr. Mohamed Gibran, President. Al-Ittihad, Dr. Solaf Darwish, President of the Banks and Insurance Syndicate, Abdel Moneim El-Gamal, President of the General Union of Construction and Wood, Khaled Al-Feki, President of the General Union of Metallurgical and Engineering Industries, and Imad Hamdi, President of the General Syndicate of Chemicals.