Meeting to vote on private sector allowance delayed

CAIRO – 16 July 2017: The Ministry of Manpower delayed a meeting scheduled with business community leaders to sign an agreement stipulating allowance for private sector employees, the ministry announced Sunday.

The meeting was pushed to Tuesday, July 18 to ensure the presence of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.

Based on an initial agreement on July 12 with the Minister of Manpower Mohamed Safaan and the Support Egypt Coalition at the Parliament, private sector employees will be given a special monthly allowance at a minimum value of LE 165 ($9.20) and maximum value of LE 330.

The new allowance comes to protect private sector employees, Saafan told local media last week.

Employers will not be obliged to pay this allowance, “but they could do it out of their social responsibility,” the minister said.

The initiative was originally announced by parliamentarian Mohamed Elsewedy, who said he will coordinate with the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) and all business unions to apply this increase.