The “Committee for Justice” (CFJ) has monitored the resurgence of the crisis involving workers at Samannoud Textiles Company after management failed to disburse the annual periodic allowance for January, amounting to 250 EGP, despite previous promises.
Additionally, the company’s management has refused to implement the new minimum wage set by the Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, under Circular No. (2) of 2025, which raised the minimum wage in the private sector to 7,000 EGP, effective March 1, 2025. Meanwhile, workers’ wages remain at 3,500 EGP.
Last August, the company’s workers went on strike for a full month demanding the implementation of the minimum wage, which was 6,000 EGP at the time. However, management responded with only a marginal increase of 200 EGP, citing insufficient profits as justification. With the latest circular eliminating exemptions from minimum wage compliance, all private sector companies are now required to adhere to it without delay, further fueling workers’ frustration over the administration’s resistance to implementing the decision.
In a new escalation, workers halted work for several hours on Monday, March 3, demanding the overdue allowance from January. However, management ignored their demands and instead called in National Security, which forced the workers to resume work—an act widely condemned as a blatant violation of their rights and a continuation of marginalization and repression.
Workers recall with concern the arrests of their colleagues during the previous strike, when eight workers—including female employees—were detained and charged with serious offenses such as “inciting a strike, unlawful assembly, and attempting to overthrow the regime.”
CFJ condemns the use of security repression against labor movements and calls on Samannoud Textiles Company to end its resistance to fulfilling workers’ rightful financial demands. The committee urges management to comply with government wage regulations rather than circumvent them. Additionally, CFJ also calls on the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower to intervene to ensure justice for the workers and provide them with necessary protections.
