Tunisia: the main union, the UGTT, maintains pressure against the government
Audio 01:25
The secretary general of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), Noureddine Taboubi, delivers his inaugural speech in front of several hundred employees in the transport sector, on November 30, 2022 in Tunis.
AFP - FETHI BELAID
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In Tunisia, tensions between the government and the UGTT (the Tunisian General Labor Union), the country's main trade union platform, have not subsided.
Thursday, December 1, the secretary general of the organization announced that his movement would not approve measures that will further reduce the purchasing power of Tunisians.
On Saturday, he went even further.
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With our correspondent in Tunis
,
Amira Souilem
It is a last stand that President
Kaïs Saïed
would have done well without.
Two weeks before the Tunisian legislative elections, the country's main union is challenging him through the voice of its general secretary, Noureddine Taboubi.
“
We are going towards elections that have no taste or color.
Elections which result from a Constitution which did not make room for consultation and which did not win the approval of the majority
”, he is indignant.
Gathered at the Palais des Congrès in Tunis, the crowd chanted “
election masquerade
”.
In addition to asking for a ministerial reshuffle, the union also took the opportunity to express its economic demands as Tunisia prepares to conclude an agreement with the IMF for a disbursement of 1.9 billion dollars.
“We condemn the secret agreements concluded with the IMF”
“
We warn the government of any measure that would attack basic necessities and starve the people.
We condemn the secret deals with the
IMF
.
And we will fight them by all possible legitimate and militant means
”, threatens the leader of the union.
The latter is opposed to any privatization of state companies that provide public services (water, electricity, transport) and to the abolition of subsidies for basic food and energy products.
After first supporting Kaïs Saïed when he seized full power in July 2021, the UGTT now openly challenges him.
► To read also: Tunisia: the largest union in the country, the UGTT, ceases all collaboration with the government
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Kais Saied
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