Egypt: To commence Enrollment of Millions of Fizgig Staffers for the Government Insurance

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone- The administration of Egypt will begin to enlisting millions of giglot employees to give them health insurance and emergency state aid during the Novel Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, which has taken an exceedingly huge expense on the country’s ad-hoc workers, officials let out.

Precisely, there are at least 14 million giglot employees in Egypt, and while some staffers and campaigners greeted the administration’s impetus, others cautioned that many workers could be unwilling to sign up – worrying about tax and social security payment demands.

The government announced it schedules to spot and support two million giglot workers in the country of 100 million people by the end of 2021. Labor Ministry Spokesman – Haitham Saad El-Din declared on February 27th, 2021.
“It is part of a government plan to give assistance to this segment of the society which has been majorly affected by the pandemic,” he stated, expanding that officials were concentrating foremost on spotting casual construction laborers.

Gig workers who have their employment status registered on their national identity cards under a new “irregular employment” category will be given social security insurance and be eligible for state welfare programs. Egypt’s state-run insurance policy encompasses life insurance and disability cover, as well as insulating healthcare costs.

The statement is the latest in a sequel of state criteria strived at safeguarding susceptible groups from the economic aftermath of the pandemic. Shortly after the COVID-19 eruption started up, it launched a program that finances jagged employees with monthly aid, and Egyptian President – Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered for financial support to be increased when a second virus wave took hold.

State welfare spending surged 36% in the first half of the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait announced recently. Many day-to-day laborers applauded the enrollment crusade as a favorable stride, telling it would help bring them into the strict economy and comprehend their economic subsidy.

“Millions of Egyptians have been affected by this pandemic but it’s really good that the government is not leaving us behind,” let out Farouk Mahmoud, 35 interim worker from the city of Sohag. Yet, while the latest data puts the number of gig workers at 14 million, the actual number may be much higher — making enlisting them a daunting managerial task, noted Bassant Fahmi, a member of parliament’s economic affairs committee.

“Many of them may fear being asked afterwards to pay taxes or insurance. That could mean a lot of gig workers avoiding being identified by the government,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. But besides any misgivings about being under the government’s radar, many gig workers in Egypt are more concerned about the absence of durable job opportunities — particularly for young people — and the health of the wider economy.

“It isn’t crucial for me to have a job on my ID,” stated Abanoub Lotfi, a 26-year-old driver for ride-hailing service Uber, who holds a degree in Commerce “What really matters is that the government offers me a stable job that suits my academic background and helps me afford my needs and those of my family.”

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent

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