The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has monitored widespread complaints among irregular workers registered with Egypt’s Ministry of Labor, highlighting their inability to receive the Ramadan grant they typically receive during the holy month. Last week, Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Kojak announced that the grant had been increased to EGP 1,500.
Several workers stated that post offices had not yet begun disbursing the grant and reported receiving no information about the payment date, with postal staff repeatedly responding with “We don’t know.”
In this context, Shaimaa Abdullah, Director of the Irregular Workers Department at the Ministry of Labor, declined to disclose the grant’s payment date, stating that it was “not within her authority” to provide media statements except through the ministry’s media office.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor’s media advisor, Abdel Wahab Khadr, stated that the ministry is “reviewing beneficiary data and coordinating with post offices for disbursement,” urging workers who have not yet received the grant to contact him directly.
It is noteworthy that the Minister of Finance announced last week an increase of EGP 500 in the grant, raising it to EGP 1,500, to be paid six times a year as part of a new social support package aimed at assisting the most vulnerable groups.
CFJ urges the Egyptian Ministry of Labor to ensure greater transparency regarding grants for irregular workers and to immediately begin disbursing the promised payments in line with the approaching month of Ramadan.
