Egypt’s president raises minimum monthly wage

Egypt´s president on Tuesday raised the minimum monthly wage to about (dollar)172, a move meant to ease the burdens of Egyptians hurt by painful austerity measures in recent years.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi announced in a statement that the minimum monthly wage in the country would be 2,700 Egyptian pounds ((dollar)171.5) – a 12.5percent increase from the current 2,400 Egyptian pounds ((dollar)152.5).

He also raised salaries of civil servants by about 13percent. This is the third time el-Sissi increased the minimum wage since he took office in 2014. The announcement came after the president met Tuesday with the prime minister, finance minister and other financial officials to discuss the next budget. Bonuses for school teachers were also announced.

The statement did not say when the increases will be applied, but they are expected with the start of the new fiscal year in July,