(ANSAmed) – TUNIS, MAY 3 – The fluidity of the political situation in North Africa is of course significantly influenced by the area’s economic conditions, which in Egypt are having a positive affect on salaries, more so than in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, a study has shown.
The report by Mercer International into the wage dynamics of the four countries in 2009 and 2011 (the two years chosen for the analysis) shows that the greatest rise in wages was registered in Egypt, where there were increases of 21% in 2009 and 10.74% last year. For Tunisians, Algerians and Moroccans, the situation is less satisfactory, with the average increases in the two years compared and contrasted a lot more contained, at between 6 and 7% per year.
The double-figure increase for Egyptian employees, therefore, has not been reflected in the other three countries, showing the difficulty of overall conditions.
While wages have increased, the other important figure for family budgets is the inflation rate, which determines the daily erosion of salaries. Inflation reached the highest level in Tunisia, with a yearly average of 4%, while the most contained rise was registered for Moroccan consumers, an increase of just 1%. Another interesting element is how wages in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria are determined, in other words the impact of basic salaries on other variable chapters of the economy.
Overall analysis shows that “substance” is given wages by fixed figures, meaning the basic salary, which are then intertwined with variables such as allowances, variable bonuses and benefits of other categories. Comparison shows that the basic salary constitutes 60-70% of the monthly wage. The relationship between basic wage and allowances is very high in Morocco, where a fifth of the monthly wage is determined by allowances, while the figure is residual for Tunisian workers (only a quarter). Incentive mechanisms vary across the countries, too, ranging from 6-25% according to the responsibilities determined in turn by qualifications and roles. (ANSAmed).
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