All Support to the Striking Workers of “T&C” Garments

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

The Revolutionary Socialists movement values the struggle of more than 6,000 workers of the Egyptian “T&C” Ready-Made Garments company in Obour City, Qalyubia Governorate. Their continuous strike for a whole week to demand higher wages amidst the unbearable rise in prices deserves recognition. The movement encourages them to raise the demand to link wages to prices alongside their primary demand of increasing the annual bonus to 50% of the basic salary.

The movement denounces the policies of the ruthless neoliberal government that sides with capital. This government sees meager wages as a tool to attract investors solely focused on profits and pumping new investments into production machinery to maintain their competitiveness.

It is worth noting that the salaries of T&C workers fall below the minimum wage of EGP 6,000 set by the government last year. Meanwhile, T&C’s investments in Egypt in 2024 amount to over $60 million, and the management expects them to rise to $100 million by the end of 2026.

The movement views the protests of garment workers in Obour as the first significant popular reaction rejecting the new labor law currently being discussed in the “Parliament of the Whales,” far removed from the true representatives of workers. This law sets the annual bonus at only 3% of the insurance wage while prices skyrocket, and the pound’s value continues to plummet.

The movement stresses the importance of continuing the strike despite the company owner’s attempts to break it through threats of dismissal and forced leave, considering it the only path to compel the employer to meet the workers’ demands. The movement affirms that the chanting of the uprising workers against hunger and oppression, “One Hand,” outlines the path workers must adhere to in facing any attempts to sow division or retaliate against any worker for participating in the protests.

It is worth mentioning that the company, which refuses to increase its workers’ wages and whose actions the Ministry of Labor, aligned with investors, dares not challenge, is owned by Egyptian businessman Magdy Tolba and the Turkish Tay Group. Founded in 2010, the company exports its entire production, with 70% going to the American market and 30% to the Egyptian market.

Despite the genocidal war on Gaza, the company’s management continues, with cold indifference, to operate under the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement, which requires 10.5% of Israeli components in Egyptian products. This constitutes one of the forms of normalization widely rejected by the public. However, the regime maintains its ties with Zionists and benefits from its relations with investors. Meanwhile, the iron fist of the regime—including the imprisonment of pro-Palestine supporters and its rejection of establishing independent unions in factories—prevents the working class from adopting the demand to reject normalization with Zionists in its struggle.
So, T&C workers, step forward!