Egypt's government will raise the minimum wage paid by the private sector to 3,500 Egyptian pounds (R2,155) a month from January 1, according to a notice in the official gazette on Monday.
The last time the government increased the minimum wage was on July 1, when it set it at 3,000 pounds.
Headline inflation in Egypt has risen sharply over the past two years, reaching a record 38% in September before slipping to 35.6% in November.
Meanwhile, Egyptians voted on Monday on the second and penultimate day of a presidential election in which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to sweep to a third, six-year term amid a grinding economic crisis and war on Egypt's border in Gaza.
Some Egyptians have shown little interest or knowledge about the election, though authorities and commentators on tightly controlled local media have been urging them to vote out of national duty.
Crowds of voters, some of them arriving on buses, have appeared at polling stations where patriotic music is blasted through loudspeakers, though other polling stations observed by Reuters reporters appeared quiet.
Egyptian government announces minimum wage increase during elections
Minimum wage increased to 3,500 Egyptian pounds (R2,155)
Image: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Egypt's government will raise the minimum wage paid by the private sector to 3,500 Egyptian pounds (R2,155) a month from January 1, according to a notice in the official gazette on Monday.
The last time the government increased the minimum wage was on July 1, when it set it at 3,000 pounds.
Headline inflation in Egypt has risen sharply over the past two years, reaching a record 38% in September before slipping to 35.6% in November.
Meanwhile, Egyptians voted on Monday on the second and penultimate day of a presidential election in which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to sweep to a third, six-year term amid a grinding economic crisis and war on Egypt's border in Gaza.
Some Egyptians have shown little interest or knowledge about the election, though authorities and commentators on tightly controlled local media have been urging them to vote out of national duty.
Crowds of voters, some of them arriving on buses, have appeared at polling stations where patriotic music is blasted through loudspeakers, though other polling stations observed by Reuters reporters appeared quiet.
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