Bill collectors and meter readers working under commission-based and agency contract systems at the Qalyoubia Drinking Water and Sanitation Company have reached an agreement with the company’s management to receive the minimum wage of 8,000 Egyptian pounds (around $150) starting in July, after days of protest.
The deal also includes the issuance of new employment contracts guaranteeing their financial and social insurance rights, collectors’ spokesperson Mohamed Daoud told Al Manassa.
Under the new contracts, which several workers signed immediately after the meeting, staff will receive a fixed salary no lower than the minimum wage, alongside a collection bonus to be determined later, Daoud said. He added that workers are now entitled to leave, and annual profit-sharing payments.
Furthermore, salaries will be paid on the 25th of each month, matching the schedule of permanently appointed employees, replacing the previous system of payment in two installments.
The agreement was reached during negotiations at the company’s Al-Qanater Al-Khayriya branch. The meeting brought together dozens of workers, company chairman Mohamed Fouda, and several senior officials. It was also attended by Member of Parliament Samir Al-Bayoumi, who represents the Qalyoub and Al-Qanater Al-Khayriya constituencies.
The agreement followed a series of protests organized by the collectors over recent months, the latest of which was a demonstration last Wednesday involving dozens of workers outside the Al-Qanater branch, demanding improved working conditions and the application of the minimum wage.
This resolution caps a long-running dispute over employment conditions. Last year, management required many workers to sign agency agreements under what it called the “Unified Employment Contract,” replacing the commission-based contracts under which they had worked for years.
While some signed, others refused, telling Al Manassa at the time that the new contracts curtailed certain rights available under the previous system.
Prior to this, bill collectors and meter readers at the Qaha branch had staged a protest in April. They demonstrated against the exclusion of agency-contract workers from the 2025 annual profit-sharing payments and the low profit shares granted to commission-based collectors, while continuing to demand comprehensive employment contracts and the minimum wage.
Earlier, in March 2025, commission-system collectors and readers organized simultaneous protests at the Al-Qanater Al-Khayriya, Khosous, Shubra El-Kheima, and Banha branches. They demanded the minimum wage, which was then set at 7,000 pounds ($135), along with comprehensive employment contracts. Those demonstrations followed similar actions across the governorates of Qalyoubia, Aswan, and Giza in 2024.
