Egypt's parliament approves law granting periodical bonus to state employees

Gamal Essam El-Din , Tuesday 29 Mar 2022

Egypt's parliament approved on Tuesday four laws, the first of which is on granting state employees a periodical bonus as well as raising pensions next April, instead of July 2022, as an urgent measure to mitigate the economic impact of the war in Ukraine on poor and limited-income citizens.

parliament
Egyptian parliament

The law gives a periodical bonus of 8 percent for employees who are covered by the civil service law and 15 percent for those who are not covered.

The three other laws, which were approved in principle two weeks ago, tackle irregular migration, commercial brokerage, and the safety of sea vessels.

MP Adel Abdel-Fadil, deputy chairman of the House's Labour Force Committee, explained that regarding the first law, "These periodical bonuses, which are usually granted on July each year, will instead be disbursed in April to help fixed income employees mitigate the negative economic impact of the war in Ukraine, which is reflected in higher commodity prices and rising inflation rates."

"Article 3 states that high-ranking state employees will also be granted an additional bonus ranging from EGP 175 to EGP 400."  

Abdel-Fadi added that Article 5 states that public sector and public business employees will also be granted a periodical bonus next April instead of July.

"Besides, Article 6 states that civil and military pensions will be raised next April, instead of July 2022," said Abdel-Fadil.

According to Abdel-Fadil, the law was drafted by the government to help state employees and pensioners absorb the economic shock of the war in Ukraine.

"The government sees that these fixed income classes should feel social security, not to mention that the law sends a message to all citizens that the government will not let them down in these economically critical times," said Abdel-Fadil.

The House also gave final approval for the law on fighting irregular migration. The law, approved in principle on 8 March, aims to impose tougher penalties on irregular migration. It also states that a national coordination committee would be set up to implement the country's national strategy on fighting irregular migration.

The House also gave final approval for amendments to the law regulating the performance of commercial agencies and commercial brokerage works. The amended law, approved in principle by the House on 6 March, seeks to introduce new rules and objective procedures necessary to regulate the business of real estate brokerage works, and also fight money laundering operations in this market.

Lastly, MPs gave the final thumbs up to a law regulating the use of sea vessels. The law, which was provisionally approved on 6 March, makes it obligatory for the owners of Egyptian vessels to report the handling of their units (selling or renting) to concerned authorities.

The law toughens penalties on owners of vessels who decline to report the commercial handling of their maritime units or who use their units in illegal operations such as smuggling migrants.

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