Sisi orders minimum wage increase for state servants

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently issued some new measures for the government to enact, which included raising the minimum wage for state servants. Sisi directed that the minimum gross income be increased to LE4,000 from LE3,500 for sixth class employees in the state’s administrative apparatus. He also ordered an increase in the financial categories granted to beneficiaries of the 'Takaful and Karama' initiative by 15 percent for pensioners, covering a total of five million families. Furthermore, Sisi doubled the exceptional grant for pensioners and their beneficiaries, which will now be LE600 instead of LE300, benefiting up to 11 million citizens. In addition, the president called for a raise in the tax exemption limit by 25 percent, from LE 36,000 to LE 45,000, for all employees of the state’s administrative apparatus, economic bodies, and business sector companies. In a move aimed at easing the burden on defaulted small farmers, an initiative was launched with the Agricultural Bank of Egypt to exempt defaulters from paying bills or late fines due to the General Authority for Reconstruction and Agricultural Development Projects before January 2024.