No state support for Ramadan? Irregular workers still wait for grants

Though the cost of living often shoots up during Ramadan, several irregular workers told Mada Masr that they have yet to receive the income support grant they registered for and expected at the start of the holy month.

Project-based and seasonal laborers, a type of employment often found in the construction industry, are eligible to register with the Labor Ministry for periodic income support grants — an initiative introduced during the coronavirus pandemic.

One worker in Giza told Mada Masr that they usually have no issues collecting the grant, with the most recent disbursement received in January. When available, the grant is typically distributed through national post office branches on the second day of the month.

However, despite repeated visits to the Wardan post office, the worker has yet to receive the Ramadan grant. “The post office won’t say when it will be paid. They don’t know,” they said.

Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk announced in February that the grant would increase from LE1,000 to LE1,500 as part of a new social support package, with disbursements scheduled six times a year.

The grant is regularly distributed on four national holidays: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, the Prophet’s birthday and Labor Day, according to the Labor Ministry’s website.

The Giza worker noted that they, along with others registered for the grants, are accustomed to receiving the Eid al-Fitr grant in two installments: one at the beginning of Ramadan and another closer to Eid al-Fitr.

However, when inquiring at post offices this year, they were told: “we don’t know.”

Former secretary-general of the independent union for irregular workers, Mohamed Abdel Kader, told Mada Masr that many workers have reported being unable to collect the grant since the start of Ramadan.

Shaimaa Abdallah, the head of the Labor Ministry’s irregular employment administration, declined to disclose the expected disbursal date.“We are not authorized to speak to the press except through the ministry’s media office,” she said.

When Mada Masr reached out to the ministry’s media advisor, Abdel Wahab Khedr, he briefly said that authorities are currently reviewing the list of eligible recipients and coordinating with post offices for disbursement. He urged workers facing difficulties in receiving the grant to contact him.

While some irregular workers haven’t received the grants they expected over the holy month, others haven’t received their installments for much longer, according to Abdel Kader.

Some workers said they were uncertain whether authorities still consider them eligible to receive the grants, despite having registered for and receiving them in the past.

The Labor Ministry’s information page on the grant does not specify how workers can verify their occupation or check if they are registered in the government’s database.

But workers who spoke to Mada Masr described submitting proof of employment  understanding that this was sufficient to qualify for the grant. Abdel Kader likewise said that the ministry’s database only includes employees working for registered companies or places of employment.

Several workers, however, described losing access to grants after changing jobs, despite job mobility being common in the sector.

“If a worker leaves their job, they stop receiving payments under the pretext that the company hasn’t updated the records,” Abdel Kader said.

One carpenter previously employed by Hassan Allam Construction Company, which registered him in the irregular workers’ database at the time, told Mada Masr that they lost access to the grant after leaving their job.

“I haven’t received anything for over a year and a half,” they said. When they inquired at the labor force office in Giza, they were told, “Your name is there, but it hasn’t been updated.”

Another carpenter from Shubra al-Kheima, Qalyubiya Governorate, said they have been unable to collect the grant for two years and three months, despite confirming their registration with the Labor Ministry directorate in the area.