State institutions reject maximum wage

Several state-owned institutions have objected to the implementation of a maximum wage in the public sector, a measure that was stipulated in a law amended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday.

According to the law, the net income for all state employees should not exceed 35 times the minimum wage, thus capping it at LE42,000 per month. The law applies to all government employees, as well as employees in state-owned companies, advisors and other non-contractual state workers. The law only excludes expenses such as travel and housing allowance from the maximum wage, while all bonuses and incentives are to remain within the set limit.

The law also excludes diplomatic missions and other state employees representing Egypt abroad from its stipulations.

On Sunday, employees at the head branch of Al-Ahly National Bank closed the branch protesting the decision.

Quoting judicial sources, state-owned Al-Ahram also reported that judges at the State Council and State Lawsuits Authority refused to allow the Central Auditing Agency access to a database of their salaries, which allegedly surpass the maximum wage. According to the sources, the judges in these institutions get assigned to work in different ministries, and earn a much higher salary.

According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, there is also resistance to the law in the petrol and communication sectors, where the wages of several executives surpass LE200,000.

The new maximum and minimum wages are meant to enforce Article 27 of the 2014 Constitution, which stipulates that “the economic system is socially obliged to equal opportunities, fair distribution of development returns, decreasing the differences between wages, the commitment to a minimum wage that grants good living standards, and a maximum wage to all state actors according to the law.”

The minimum wage was set at LE1,200 per month by former Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi's Cabinet.