Par'l Approves President Sisi's New Wage and Pension Hikes

Egypt's parliament – the House of Representatives – approved Sunday a government-drafted bill granting new wage hikes to government employees and a rise by 15 percent to pensions.

Parliament speaker Hanafy El-Gebaly said that the draft bill will be up for a final vote in an upcoming session.

"The new wage and pension hikes will go into effect on the first of April in line with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's new package of social protection measures," said chairman of the House's Labour Force committee Adel Abdel-Fadil.

Chairman of parliament's Budget Committee Fakhri El-Fiqi said that "the new wage and pension hikes are the best the government can do at the moment to mitigate the negative impact of soaring inflation on the public, and we can say that this new package of social protection measures is just part of the solution needed to control soaring inflation."

El-Fiqi argued that "the government is currently adopting a host of economic reforms that should help control soaring inflation in the long run."

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Alaaeddin Fouad said that the government is doing its best to control inflation.

The problem, he said, is that almost the entire world has been hit with inflation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

Fouad also responded to attacks from leftist MPs who accused the government of not doing enough to control the black market and crack down on market monopolies.

"The government is by no means helping monopolies, but on the contrary it is doing its best to make sure that all goods and products are available on the local market at reasonable prices," said Fouad, referring to the fact that "the government and civil society organsations are launching several initiatives that aim to help vulnerable classes bear the high cost of living."

"For example, the government is currently opening an integrated chain of supermarkets that sell basic goods and commodities at discounted prices all over Egypt," said Fouad.

President El-Sisi announced on the second of March a social package of measures.

The cabinet approved President El-Sisi's new social package on 8 March.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said El-Sisi's new social package will cost the state treasury an initial EGP 190 billion, EGP 40 billion of which to cover the remaining quarter of the current FY 2022/23, and EGP 150 billion in the new FY 2023/24.