Mursi hikes salaries in his first decree

Cairo: Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohammad Mursi ordered a pay rise for state employees on Sunday, a day after he was sworn in, reported the official Middle East News Agency (Mena).

Mursi ordered a 15 per cent social increment given to the state employees and pensioners starting from July, added Mena.

“The decision is part of efforts to implement social justice and reduce poverty in society,” Mena quoted Mursi’s spokesman Yasser Ali as saying.

Mursi, a son of a simple farmer from the Nile Delta, pledged in an inaugural address on Saturday to enforce a blanket social justice in the Arab world’s most populous nation. He is Egypt’s first Islamist and civilian president.