By RFIPalled on 22-11-2018Modified on 22-11-2018 at 19:33

The 670,000 Tunisian civil servants were called Wednesday, November 21 to a general strike of the public service by the powerful union UGTT. The goal is to force the government to raise wages. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament.

The officials can not take it anymore. The rate of inflation, galloping in recent years , has reached nearly 8% this year, the highest level in 30 years, and wages do not follow. Zarouk Ali has been teaching philosophy for almost 30 years and earns the equivalent of 460 euros a month: " Our purchasing power has collapsed since 2011. There is a political crisis that has turned into a social crisis ".

The political class is seen as the first responsible, a feeling shared by Professor Chedli who heads the union section of the polytechnic: " For three years, there has been a huge drop in purchasing power that exceeds 30%. The state has made no move to increase the income of public service employees. We are here to denounce a catastrophic economic policy that leads us to the wall. "

This day of general strike, several times postponed, will make a date to believe Taoufik, the quarantine, cap screwed on the head: " There were general strikes, in 1978, in 2006. But it was not for the increased purchasing power. The price increase is very important in recent years, we need to increase wages. [All this is] because of the problems with the IMF and this is the problem of the government, it is not my problem. "

Forced to use the international monetary fund for a loan of 2.4 billion euros in 2016, Tunisia has embarked on drastic reforms such as the maintenance of the payroll of the civil service. The government's lack of room for maneuver has not yet led to any concrete announcement, but a new round of negotiations is due tomorrow.

During the protest against the government's refusal to increase wages, in Tunis on November 22, 2018. © REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi

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