Egyptalum, Egypt’s largest aluminum producer, has dismissed more than 500 temporary workers at its Nag Hammadi complex after security forces broke up their sit-in and strike early Monday in Qena governorate, workers said. The employees had been demanding permanent contracts and application of the minimum wage.
More than 2,000 temporary workers began an open-ended strike on Saturday inside the company’s premises, calling for an end to their contracts with labor supply firms and direct hiring by Egyptalum. They also sought wage increases to match the national minimum wage, saying their current monthly pay ranges between 2,500 and 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($50–$60).
“We arrived for the first shift yesterday and police vehicles were still there,” one dismissed worker told Al Manassa. “Officers stood with company security holding lists of names. They checked our national IDs, and anyone whose name was on the list was denied entry and told their contract had ended.” He said the same process was repeated the following day.
A second worker said Nag Hammadi lawmaker Mahmoud El-Menoufy visited the sit-in Sunday evening and urged them to end the protest, promising to raise their demands with management. “Hours after he left, Central Security forces stormed the sit-in and ordered us to leave or face arrest,” the worker said.
Disputed contracts and legal limbo
The affected workers say they face a complex legal situation that denies them social insurance and other benefits because they are formally employed by labor supply companies rather than Egyptalum itself.
However, one worker previously told Al Manassa that most of them graduated from the company’s training center and the affiliated Aluminum Technical Industrial Institute. “We are the company’s own sons. We studied at its institute and we are the ones keeping it running. Why should we work for a contractor we don’t even know?” he said, adding that management had promised for years that the outsourcing arrangement was temporary. “Every few months they tell us appointments are coming soon, and it turns out they were misleading us. How are we supposed to live on 2,500 pounds with these prices?”
A third worker said they receive no health or workplace injury coverage. “Anyone who gets sick pays for treatment out of pocket. Even work injuries are not recognized,” he said. He cited a colleague, an engineer, who lost a foot in a workplace accident and, according to workers, received no compensation.
Repeated protests
In October 2024, temporary workers joined a strike at Egyptalum demanding higher profit shares and allowances, as well as permanent contracts. They suspended the action after officials from the Ministry of Public Business Sector promised to address their demands, but workers resumed protests the following year over the same issues.
Established in 1969 in Nag Hammadi, Egyptalum began production in 1975. By July 1983, it operated five production lines. In 2010, the company completed a rehabilitation program upgrading all lines to pre-baked cell technology, reaching a maximum capacity of 320,000 tons annually.
According to the official website of the Holding Company for Metallurgical Industries, Egyptalum currently produces 320,000 tons of molten metal per year. Its foundry sector produces 320,000 tons annually in various cast forms, while its rolling mill produces 108,000 tons of hot-rolled products each year.
