Workers at the Amoun Pharmaceutical plant in Obour City, Qalyoubia Governorate, have been on strike for five consecutive days, citing a deadlock with management over unpaid bonuses and what they describe as deteriorating wages.
The strike began on April 23 with demands including the disbursement of 2025’s annual profit-sharing bonuses, a 30% increase in basic salaries, and the implementation of a 20% annual raise. The striking workers are also calling for an end to subcontracting practices, demanding the conversion of indirect contracts into direct employment with the company.
Beyond financial grievances, the workforce has made the dismissal of the company’s general manager, Mohamed Heshmat, a non-negotiable condition for ending their strike, according to two workers who spoke to Al Manassa.
Over the last three years, workers allege salary increases were marginal, leaving many salaries stalled at approximately 6,000 Egyptian pounds (around $114), which sits below the current minimum wage of 7,000 pounds ($133) and falls significantly short of the government’s recently announced 8,000 pounds ($152) threshold, which is to be implemented in July 2026.
“I have been working at this company for three years and my salary is only 5,500 pounds,” one worker told Al Manassa. “More than half of that goes toward rent, water, and electricity. How are we supposed to cope with this inflation? Are we expected to live on less than 3,000 pounds for food, transport, and school fees?”
A second worker, who asked not to be named, noted that for the strike to end, the company must overhaul the profit-sharing system. Notably, workers are demanding that bonuses be calculated based on their most recent basic salaries rather than the 2016 rates that the company used before profit shares were frozen three years ago. The workers are also insisting on a transparent, binding timetable for these disbursements.
He also pointed to job security as a central pillar of the unrest. Approximately half of Amoun’s 3,000-strong workforce is currently employed through a third-party labor subcontractor, IBS. These employees are demanding direct, indefinite contracts with Arcera, the current parent company, to ensure their long-term job stability.
Workers also noted the physical toll of the current production schedule and are calling for the recruitment of a new production technician to meet output targets, claiming the existing staff is being “drained” by workloads that exceed their capacity.
The industrial dispute marks a turbulent period for the firm since its acquisition by the tax-exempt Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, in 2021 for $740 million. ADQ subsequently launched Arcera, an Abu Dhabi-based life sciences powerhouse, to consolidate its pharmaceutical assets, including Amoun, under a single corporate umbrella.
