Revenue collectors and meter readers at the Qalyoubia Drinking Water and Sanitation Company’s Qaha branch staged a protest Tuesday demanding comprehensive employment contracts and implementation of the minimum wage, workers told Al Manassa.
The workers called for cancellation of outsourced and commission-based contracts and refused to hand over daily collections. They said the protest followed the exclusion of outsourced collectors from annual profits for 2025, despite earlier promises, and cited low salaries capped at 5,200 Egyptian pounds ($100).
One worker said staff were forced last year to sign “unified labor contracts” under threat of dismissal and National Security involvement, while others refused, insisting on comprehensive contracts.
The worker, who requested anonymity, added that commission-based collectors who refused to sign the outsourced contracts received 12 months’ worth of profits based on their basic salary, however, this amounted to a small sum not exceeding 2,800 pounds (about $54) because the basic salary specified in the contracts is only 240 pounds (about $4.60).
“They deceived us when the outsourced contracts were drawn up, saying there would be many benefits and that our salaries would reach 10,000 or 12,000, but no one receives more than the 5,200 specified in the contract,” the second worker said. The company, he said, set “impossible conditions” requiring collection rates of 90% to earn commissions, which workers are unable to achieve.
He further noted that the new contract served as a pretext to dismiss several collectors over recent months, as it allows the company to terminate the contract if a worker fails to meet the target for three consecutive months.
In March 2025, commission-based revenue collectors and meter readers at the Qalyoubia Drinking Water and Sanitation Company organized simultaneous protests across branches in El-Kanater El-Khayreya, El-Khosous, Shubra El-Kheima, and Banha to demand the implementation of the 7,000-pound ($134) minimum wage and the issuance of comprehensive employment contracts. These followed similar protests in Qalyubia, Aswan, and Giza. At the start of 2025, National Security summoned several collectors from various Qalyoubia water company branches following management reports accusing them of rioting.
