CAIRO: Egypt’s National Council for Wages on Wednesday announced the implementation of a minimum wage of 2,400 Egyptian pounds ($152) in the private sector for the first time effective January 2022. The council also set the value of periodic increment at 3 percent of the insurance wage, which is 70 Egyptian pounds. These measures seek to protect workers’ rights and ensure suitable wages to help them maintain a suitable living standard, said Hala Al-Saeed, minister of planning and economic development. The minister, who is also the council’s president, said the decisions will be binding as per the new labor law.