Workers at Jade Textile Egypt, a sportswear manufacturer owned by Turkey’s Yeşim Group, went on strike on Sunday at the company’s factory in 10th of Ramadan City, demanding higher wages after rejecting what they described as an inadequate annual raise, workers said.
The workers are calling for monthly wages to be raised to 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($210), two employees told Al Manassa, saying the company approved an average annual increase of about 800 pounds while base wages remain below 6,500 pounds.
The dispute extends beyond the 10th of Ramadan facility to the company’s factories in Borg El Arab and Ismailia, one worker told Al Manassa, adding that employees across the sites face similar pay levels.
The worker, who asked that their name not be published, said company officials issued threats through a WhatsApp group for workers before and during the strike, including reporting them to the National Security Agency. They were also threatened with dismissal if they continued their protests.
A woman worker told Al Manassa that workers are struggling with low wages that cannot meet their needs amid rising prices, “at a time when the company achieves big profits in dollars through manufacturing for global brands including Nike, Tommy, and Lacoste.”
The worker, who also asked that her name not be published, added, “We asked for less than our rights. Give us even half the wages of the company’s workers in Turkey. Aren’t they supposed to be our colleagues, and aren’t we workers in one company?” She said the number of workers at the 10th of Ramadan site alone is 6,000, with about one-third women, and that “a large number of them gathered in the company’s yard today to express their anger.”
Strike at Jade Textile Egypt in 10th of Ramadan City, Feb. 8, 2026At the end of last year, Turkey raised the minimum wage by 27% to $655.
Alaa Ezz, secretary-general of the Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations, said in press statements that differences in labor costs prompted many Turkish factories to move production lines to the Egyptian market, where the minimum wage in Turkey is $800 compared with about $180 in Egypt.
Jade Textile Egypt began manufacturing in Egypt in 2008 in Borg El Arab City. It opened its 10th of Ramadan factory in 2009, added another Borg El Arab factory in 2018, and that same year launched its Ismailia facility before establishing two additional plants in Ismailia.
The group is a key supplier for the brands Nike, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger, and Lacoste, and manufactures all types of sportswear, including T-shirts, pants, hoodies, and shorts. The 10th of Ramadan Jade Textile plant is the largest in terms of production capacity.
