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Egypt to register millions of gig workers for state insurance, aid

There are at least 14 million gig workers in Egypt, and while some workers and campaigners welcomed the government's drive.
02.03.21 | Source: The Daily Star

Egypt will start registering millions of gig workers in order to offer them health insurance and emergency state aid during the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken a particularly heavy toll on the nation's ad-hoc employees, officials said.


There are at least 14 million gig workers in Egypt, and while some workers and campaigners welcomed the government's drive, others warned that many workers could be reluctant to sign up - fearing tax and social security payment demands.


The government said it plans to identify and support 2 million gig workers in the country of 100 million people by the end of this year, labour ministry spokesman Haitham Saad El-Din said on Saturday.


"It is part of a government plan to give assistance to this segment of the society which has been majorly affected by the pandemic," he said, adding that officials were focusing first on identifying casual construction labourers.


Gig workers who have their employment status registered on their national identity cards under a new "irregular employment" category will be given free social security insurance and be eligible for state welfare programmes.

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