Government to sign non-binding agreement on private-sector raises today: Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will ink today a non-binding agreement with business associations on a 10% hardship raise for private-sector workers, the deputy head of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Mohamed El Fayoumy said on Monday, according to Al Masry Al Youm. The House of Representatives’ majority Support Egypt Coalition had reached an agreement last week with Labor Minister Mohamed Saafan to give private-sector employees 10% raises of at least EGP 165 and at most EGP 330 a month starting July. Saafan had explained that the raise is non-binding, asking businesses to do it in the spirit of corporate social responsibility. Raises given earlier this year count toward the 10%, El Fayoumy said, but standard annual raises do not. Companies facing financial difficulties will also be “exempt” from the raise, according to MP Gebaly El Maraghy, who heads the House of Representatives’ Manpower Committee. El Maraghy said that the new Labor Act will include clauses to guarantee these rights for private-sector employees and avoid having to jump through the same hoops in the future to decree a raise.