Tunisian Government Faces First Labor Strike
Arab World
Tunis - Mongi Saidani
Workers of 174 private sector establishments in the governorate of Sfax held a strike on Thursday – the first since President Kais Saied adopted exceptional measures on Sept. 22. In parallel, a sit-in was organized outside the headquarters of the General Labor Union to demand a raise in wages. Commenting in this regard, Union leaders in Sfax underlined the need for an increase in wages, in light of the decline in the purchasing power in the country. They added that the Labor Union “is not afraid of statements,” in reference to a warning issued by the Businessmen Union, in which it expressed its surprise at the decision of the general strike, and considered that such actions “do not take into account the general situation of the country.” According to observers, the partial strike, which did not include public sector employees, “is an early warning to the present authority on the importance of the Union role in the scheduled national dialogue… and also an attempt to pressure the Presidency of the Republic, which excluded national parties and organizations from this dialogue.” Noureddine Taboubi, head of the Labor Union, had held the first official meeting with Prime Minister Najla Boden, after she was assigned by Saied to form the new government. In a media statement, he said that the prime minister “relies on the Union within the framework of national solidarity in order to save the country from the difficult situation on the social and economic levels.” Taboubi added that political differences must be overcome, while attention should be focused on addressing pressing economic and social issues. In this regard, he stressed the need to follow up on the implementation of the agreements concluded between the Union and the government through continuous communication between the two sides.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3273216/tunisian-government-faces-first-labor-strike
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