The minister hailed President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s latest decision to increase the minimum wage for public sector employees to EGP 2,700 — up from EGP 2,400 — starting July as part of a broader package to address the ongoing global economic challenges and their repercussions as “historical.”

Most private sector workplaces nationwide — estimated at 3.7 million institutions — are committed to the EGP 2,400 minimum wage, with only 3,028 institutions requesting an exemption due to financial considerations, the minister said in an interview with Egyptian state news agency MENA on Tuesday.

These requests, he noted, are currently under examination, emphasising that no request will be accepted from any facility unless it submits documents indicating its eligibility for the exemption.

As for female workers, Saafan said that the ministry is providing appropriate working conditions for women and implementing a number of awareness-raising programmes on the role of women in the workplace and their rights and duties as stipulated in the constitution and the law.

The ministry will also soon launch the national plan for gender equality at work to integrate females into the labour market and provide a supportive framework for women to work in the private sector and enhance opportunities for their economic participation, the minister noted.

As for Egyptians expats, the minister assured that the number of Egyptian workers abroad is increasing despite global economic challenges, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

As many as 320,848 job opportunities abroad were provided for Egyptians over the course of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 despite the pandemic, according to Saafan.

He added that his ministry has also recently launched an electronic link system to regulate Egyptian labour’s entry into Libya and help reconstructing its western neighbour.

Furthermore, Egyptian workers will only be allowed to return to Libya through the new system, he stressed, saying that it is estimated that Libya will need millions of Egyptian workers for its reconstruction efforts. 

Saafan also pointed out that efforts are underway to activate electronic link systems with other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in order to regulate the entry of Egyptian labourers there.

Additionally, the ministry is currently preparing a comprehensive strategic report on future jobs in Egypt over the next two decades, which Saafan said will witness changes due to the tremendous technological development in the production process.