Mohammed introduces himself as a school teacher, yet always speaks of his long hours at the garment factory. Currently taking what is known as igeza bidoun moratab, or “vacation without salary,” Muhammad’s situation is common among teachers and other low-level government employees in Egypt.
Before starting as a primary school teacher, Mohammed specialized in history at a teachers’ college, then trained for a year in Shoubra, an inner city school district in Cairo. His teaching salary is determined on a per lesson basis, and he makes 45 piasters (approximately 8 cents) per lesson. In a typical term, he teaches five lessons a day, earning him LE2.5 (44 cents) a day, or about LE75 ($13 USD) per month.
By living at home in a multi-income household, and offering after-school lessons, Mohammed was able to scrape by. Old friends in Shoubra then told him that the Glass Company for Ready-Made Garments was hiring. Today, he works in the company’s planning department, tallying the products as they pass from quality control to packing and shipping. Located in Shoubra al-Khaima, Cairo’s industrial zone, the company makes pants for brands like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger for international export.
A typical order might ask for 15,000 pants in one month. “Sometimes we only have 10,000 pants with only four days remaining,” said Mohammed. “Times like this in the production cycle are difficult, but create opportunity for overtime work.” The base salary for the planning department is LE400 ($70 USD) a month, but with evening hours and the occasional Friday workday, Mohammed can net LE480-520 ($84-$91 USD) a month. During busy periods, Mohammed sometimes works two days straight, with only a 15-minute tea and nap break every three to four hours.
Mohammed wanted to keep his teaching position because it offers security. He was able to work at the factory through the option of igeza bidoun moratab, a one-year leave with the option to renew for another year. “I wanted to keep my teaching job because the future is secure with the government, and when I retire I will have a pension. There are no pensions in the private sector.”
Excerpt from: The Five Hundred Pound Hustle: Survival Strategies in Imbaba (Brookings: 2007)
