27 June 2022
Tunisia’s powerful UGTT union called on Monday for a new nationwide strike in the public sector including state firms to protest against the government’s economic policies, escalating a dispute with the government of President Kais Saied.
The latest confrontation between the union and Saied comes as Tunisia prepares to start official negotiations with the IMF over a loan to save public finances from bankruptcy in exchange for unpopular reforms including cutting food and energy subsidies and freezing wages.
The UGIT, the country’s main labour union, strongly rejected these reforms, saying it would increase the suffering of Tunisians and lead to an imminent social implosion.
Its leader Nourredine Taboubi told reporters that the date of the new strike would be announced later.
A national strike by the UGIT on June 16 brought the nation to a standstill. Public transport ground to a halt and flights were cancelled.
The latest UGIT move intensifies pressure on Saied, who has tightened his grip on power since July 2021 when he froze parliament and sacked the cabinet – moves his opponents called a coup against Tunisia’s young democracy.
Taboubi said that the union will strike to refuse “the reforms presented to the IMF”.
