Egyptian garment firms prepared for wage rise

EGYPT: Garment manufacturers prepared for wage rise

By Keith Nuthall | 14 June 2011

Post-revolutionary Egypt is set to increase its minimum wage to US$117.8 (Egyptian Pounds EGP700) a month, but the move is not expected by garment manufacturers to hit competitiveness.

“The increase will not have a major effect on the industry's competitiveness,” said Bassem Sultan, CEO of Alexandria-based Dyetex and honorary treasurer of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF). “And there are other factors to consider like bonus incentives, which could be added to the wage itself to achieve the minimum wage.”

The interim Government plans to increase public sector salaries to EGP1,200 (USD$201) over the next five years, but there have been no announcements to correspondingly raise private sector wages.

“The rise to EGP1,200 will be very gradual. And how equivalent will it be to how many dollars? We need to see this in terms of real money and not just the amount paid, as the pound is continuing to drop against the Euro and the dollar,” said Sultan.

Since the uprisings started in late January against the regime of the now ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian pound has dropped from EGP 5.8 to USD$1 to hover around EGP5.94, and to the Euro from EGP 7.77 to EGP 8.50.

By Paul Cochrane.

Sectors: Apparel, Manufacturing