Workers at Egypt’s Deshna sugar factory in Qena blocked access to sugar trucks over the past two days and prevented a senior company official from entering the site, escalating protests over wages and job security ahead of the production season, workers told Al Manassa.
Protests also continued at other facilities operated by Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Co. (ESIIC), including the Edfu and Nagaa Hammadi factories in Upper Egypt and the Hawamdeya industrial complex south of Cairo, where workers have maintained sit-ins inside the plants, according to several workers.
A worker at the Deshna factory said employees gathered at the main gates from 7 am on Monday and stopped trucks from entering. When Hamid Ahmed Mohamed, head of the Deshna sugar sector, attempted to intervene, workers refused him entry, the worker said.
After the main gates were shut, some trucks entered through secondary gates, but workers intercepted them at the weighbridge and forced them to turn back before loading, the worker added.
Protests spread across sugar facilities
The latest escalation follows a new wave of protests that began on Saturday at multiple ESIIC facilities, including the Edfu plant in Aswan governorate and the Deshna and Nagaa Hammadi plants in Qena. Workers at the equipment, refining and “Venus” units at the Hawamdeya sugar complex, as well as the transport sector, also joined the protests, workers told Al Manassa. Chemical plant workers joined the sit-ins on Sunday.
Workers are demanding higher wages, allowances, and annual profit payments, as well as permanent contracts for temporary workers.
The protests carry added significance as they come weeks before the annual production season, which typically begins in the second half of January.
“This is our chance to reclaim our lost rights,” one worker told Al Manassa. “We work and produce, but we can’t feed our children. What can a 6,000-pound salary (about $120) do after 20 years of service?”
Another worker, who asked not to be named, said workers were being made to bear the cost of price controls on sugar.
“The Ministry of Supply buys a kilo of sugar from us for 12 pounds while the market price is 30 to 35 pounds. Wages have effectively been frozen since 2014,” the worker said.
Revenue figures and dispute over profits
ESIIC posted revenue of 44 billion Egyptian pounds in 2025, up from 33 billion pounds in 2024, the company’s CEO Salah Fathy said, adding that revenue was expected to reach 50 billion pounds (around $1 billion) this year.
However, three labour sources at cane sugar factories disputed management claims that the facilities are unprofitable. They said the holding company and its subsidiaries have been required since 2014 to sell output to the Ministry of Supply at fixed prices, eroding real profits despite rising revenues.
In September, union committee heads from ESIIC’s sugar plants met Holding Company for Food Industries (HCFI) head Ayman Ismail in Cairo, workers said, alleging he refused to discuss their demands and threatened privatization.
Workers at ESIIC have long complained of low pay, with many still earning below the official minimum wage of 7,000 pounds (about $140), according to previous statements to Al Manassa.
After the protests began on Saturday, the company’s official Facebook page said its general assembly would meet on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17 and 18, but later said the meeting was moved up to Thursday, workers said.
Workers also circulated reports on Sunday that annual profit payments would be issued at the equivalent of 42 months (of basic pay) within days, but workers rejected that, insisting on increasing the payout to 60 months and implementing the rest of their demands.
Workers’ demands include retroactive application of the minimum wage, raising the monthly incentive to 350%, increasing annual profit share to 60 months, raising the meal allowance to 1,800 pounds, and raising the cash allowance to 1,500 pounds. They also want 2017 and 2018 raises added, temporary contracts converted to permanent employment, and a full settlement for workers who obtained higher qualifications while employed.
Workers also want the company to resume contributing to family healthcare costs, as it previously did, covering 50% of examination and treatment costs without a cap.
In August and September last year, the company’s factories saw protests over wages that lasted more than three weeks, starting at the Edfu and Kom Ombo plants in Aswan, then spreading to the Armant plant in Luxor and the Deshna plant in Qena. The equipment plant at the Hawamdeya complex later joined before workers ended their strikes gradually after pressure from management and security, workers told Al Manassa.
ESIIC, founded in 1956 and affiliated with the HCFI, is one of the sector’s largest industrial groups. It owns eight sugar factories in Upper Egypt, Abu Qurqas, Gerga, Nagaa Hammadi, Deshna, Qus, Armant, Edfu, and Kom Ombo, in addition to the Hawamdeya complex.
