The maximum wage of Egyptian state employees has been set at 35 times the minimum monthly salary, thanks to a law passed by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday, as reported by Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.

The law applies to workers in the government and all authorities under its control, including economic services and local councils in villages.

The wage cap was first issued as a decree in November by the Egyptian cabinet under then-prime minister Hazem El-Bablawi, who announced that the ceiling had been set at LE42,000 per month.

In September of the same year, the government set a long-awaited minimum wage for public-sector employees at LE1,200, minus deductions for pensions and other items.

The number of employees in Egypt's swollen governmental sector was increased by 2 percent in 2012/13 to reach 5.545 million, compared to 5.439 million a year before.