Egypt's quick-fix minimum wage hike fails to calm workers

When Egypt announced plans for a minimum wage late last year, the government hoped to lift living standards and calm street turmoil that has helped topple two presidents in three years.

Although one in four Egyptians lives below a poverty line of $1.65 a day, many workers say the 1,200 Egyptian pound ($170) minimum wage introduced in January is too little too late in a nation whose rulers have long favored the elite over the poor.

"Some people spend half that on their pet dogs every day," said Ibrahim Hussein, who earns 800 pounds a month as a private security guard, barely enough to support his three children.

Flush with more than $12 billion in aid from Gulf Arab states, the army-backed government is using some of the cash to defuse unsatisfied demands for reform and social justice.

Many Egyptians backed the army's overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July and the ensuing crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood in which about 1,000 of his supporters were killed.