Egypt's Minister of Manpower and Immigration, Ahmed Hassan al-Borai, predicted on Sunday that his government will set a minimum wage within five months.
Al-Borai said the government needs between two and five months to decide on the issue, which he described as "difficult".
In a statement to reporters on Sunday, the minister highlighted the need for a social dialogue to counter the problems of Egypt's workforce, which include the minimum wage and the ambiguity of the insurance system. The government will not be able to solve these problems singel-handedly, he said.
Al-Borai revealed that his ministry is about to establish a new system for hiring foreigners in the coming days.
“Foreigners are recklessly hired for jobs Egyptians can do. There is some hotel in South Sinai that employs 82 people, 57 of whom are foreigners’, the minister said.
A delegation from the International Labor Organization (ILO) concluded its visit to Egypt on 13 April. The ILO team urged Egypt to base its minimum wage on the average price for a basket of commodities needed by workers. The organization had previously urged Egypt to raise its minimum wage in order to be removed from its blacklist.
The final months of former President Hosni Mubarak’s rule saw several labor protests demanding the setting of a minimum wage.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
