Egypt Increases private sector minimum wages to EGP 3500 a month

Egypt’s National Wages Council (NWC) has set the minimum wage for private sector workers at EGP 3500 ($113.27) per month, up from the previous EGP 3,000, starting in January 2024.

NWC also decided on an annual periodic bonus for workers in the private sector, of no less than 3% of the insurance subscription wage, with a minimum of EGP 200.

The approval came at the NWC’s recent meeting chaired by H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and other officials

The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Dr. Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, Mr. Hassan Shehata, Minister of Labour, Major General Khairat Barakat, Head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS), and Dr. Saleh Al-Sheikh, head of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration (CAOA).

During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development who is also acting as Head of NCW asserted that the minimum wage for workers in the private sector increased from EGP 2,400 in January 2022, rising to EGP 2,700 in January 2023, then rising again to EGP 3,000 in July 2023, then EGP 3,500 starting from 2024.

El-Said stressed that the government is keen to achieve a balance in the interests of both parties of production, the employer and the worker, especially in light of the current challenges.

She further explained 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 a presentation from Dr. Hanan Nazir, advisor to NCW, about the mechanism for calculating wages and increase rates, as well as calculating the periodic bonus.

NCW also decided to exempt several organizations from applying the minimum wage, based on the request of Dr. Nevin Al-Qabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity.