(DNE File Photo)
Minister of Finance Ahmed Galal issued a public pamphlet to auditors, financial managers and administrative representatives asking that they verify the distribution of bonuses, beginning January 2014, to teachers in public schools and Al-Azhar University.
The statement included qualifications which control the disbursement of such bonuses, and which require that teachers receiving bonuses be actively working and have an outstanding performance.
Atef Malash, the head of the budget department at the ministry, said that the aim of the distributed bonus was to reduce the gap between the teachers’ incomes. He mentioned that the bonus received by a lower pay grade teacher will be greater than the one attained by another of a higher pay grade.
Malash added that around 1.5 million teachers would benefit from the new bonuses, including those newly hired.
The ministerial statement illustrated that the bonuses distributed would range between EGP 300 and EGP 425.
Those who hold administrative positions will receive the same financial benefits approved under the minimum income plan for the public sector.
Earlier this month, the minister stated that the implementation of the minimum income plan will help reduce the income gap between grade six employees, the lowest grade in the public sector, and those who hold managerial positions to 311%, down significantly from the previous 491%.
The implementation of the minimum income for public sector workers will result in a 0.9% increase in the country’s budget deficit, constituting a rise from 9.1% to 10% GDP. No agreements have been reached yet on the application of minimum income to the private sector.
