Over 1,200 workers at Alexandria's UNIRAB Polvara Spinning & Weaving Company in Alexandria launched a strike on Monday, demanding the immediate reinstatement of their suspended healthcare coverage. The striking workers have refused to end their strike, despite pressure from management, one worker told Al Manassa.
Since October, UNIRAB Polvara workers have been cut off from health insurance after the company failed to pay its dues. The Alexandria Health Insurance Authority halted coverage, leaving workers without chronic illness medication or access to chemotherapy. The company owes over 158 million Egyptian pounds to the National Organization for Social Insurance.
Raafat Tawfiq Qabil, the company's board chair and managing director, attempted to persuade workers to end their strike, admitting their frustration was legitimate but asking for more time to resolve the matter.
UNIRAB Polvara Spinning & Weaving Company workers strike in Alexandria, Nov. 10, 2025.The workers refused, stressing the urgency of the situation. “Some of us need operations. How can we wait?” said one worker, speaking on condition of anonymity. “No one here can afford 20,000 or 30,000 pounds for surgery at a private hospital.”
“We waited 40 days for the administration to act,” another worker explained. “When they didn’t, we had no choice but to strike.”
After workers stood their ground, Qabil reportedly told them that “the electricity bill matters more than you. I’m paying that to keep production running. I’m not going to deal with insurance if it means shutting down operations,” according to a UNIRAB Polvara worker who spoke to Al Manassa.
Workers also accused the company’s union committee of siding with management instead of defending the workforce. “The union is pressuring us to stop the strike instead of backing us,” said one employee. “They’re clearly supporting the company.”
In response, the union arranged for two doctors to visit the factory three days a week to examine workers, with the company covering the cost of limited prescriptions. But workers said this was not enough.
“They only give one strip of each medicine,” said a second worker. “That lasts a week. The rest we pay for ourselves. How is a worker with chronic illness supposed to find 1,000 pounds a month for treatment?”
The UNIRAB Polvara Spinning & Weaving Company, once part of Egypt’s public business sector, was privatized in 1997 under Investment Law 159. While now officially a private joint-stock company, the Holding Company for Spinning and Weaving retains a share, alongside other stakeholders including Nasser Bank and Misr Insurance.
Large sections of company-owned land have been sold, and its production is now limited to subcontracted orders. Clients supply raw cotton, and Polvara workers process the fibers into thread before handing it back. In return, the company receives only production fees. The workforce has dropped from over 10,000 employees to just 1,200.
In a previous interview with Al Manassa, union chair Adel Saad Moharram placed blame on the National Organization for Social Insurance, saying the company stopped paying its contributions in 2018 due to financial hardship. He said the debt would be cleared once a pending land sale, currently in litigation, is finalized. “The organization knows this, so why suspend services now?” he asked.
Moharram also said the crisis was rooted in past administrations, claiming previous land sales occurred at a quarter of market value. “That’s where the real corruption was,” he said.
But workers rejected this defense, saying Qabil, who has led the company for years, should also be held responsible. “He’s no different from the ones before him,” said one worker. “He made no effort to pay our overdue insurance.”
