Egyptian carries a placard with a breakdown of a worker's basic monthly expenses - far in excess of average wages (Photo: Ahram)
Egypt's minister of finance has vowed to offer permanent contracts to all temporary staff who have served more three years in their posts.
Egypt has an estimated 500,000 government employees on temporary contracts.
Around 5.8 million people work for the public administration, a figure that might climb to 6.3 million if temporary workers are finally granted tenure, according to Safwat El-Nahas head of the Central Agency for Organisation and Administration (CAOA).
Temporary contracts were introduced to Egypt's public administration in 2000 in a bid to compensate for labour shortages while keeping the state budget at a manageable level.
Minister of Finance Momtaz El-Saeed said the government had spent around LE54.3 billion ($9 billion) since July 2011 helping Egyptians secure basic goods and services.
The government subsidies butane fuel [LE21 billion per year], and food including sugar, rice and edible oil [LE2.3 billion] in addition to LE9 billion supporting wheat exports.
Short link: