The Ministry of Manpower denied on Monday the reports that the exceptional EGP 500 aid allocated for irregular workers will be paid via credit cards from banks.
The government has announced an exceptional finiacail assiatnce for irregular workers affected by the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak and preventative measures.
The Ministry of Manpower has called on irregular workers to register to its electronic database to benefit from the Covid-19 aid. Over 1.3 million workers have registered so far.
The ministry urged irregular workers not to spread or believe false information, whilst also avoiding crowding at bank branches in line with government’s measures of social distancing.
The details of criteria and procedures for providing the aid to irregular workers will be announced via the Ministry of Manpower’s website and official Facebook page, once they have been confirmed.
The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) said, on Sunday, that it is not “the competent body to release the exceptional aid for irregular workers,” according to state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram.
Also on Sunday, photos showing crowds in front of NBE branches were circulated via social media, following reports that the aid would be released through the bank.
There are different estimates regarding the numbers of informal and irregular workers in Egypt. According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the number of people who depend on intermittent work was roughly 4.3 million in the third quarter of 2019. However, according to Minister of Manpower Mohamed Saafan, there are over 10 million irregular workers in Egypt.
