Tunisia’s UGTT union in direct clash with President Saied

Tunisia’s powerful labour union, the UGTT, stands on a collision course with President Kais Saied, escalating a dispute that could reshape the country’s fragile democratic experiment, as reported by The New Arab plus agencies on August 18th.

Founded in 1946 and central to Tunisia’s modern political life, the union helped topple Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, resisted previous authoritarian leaders, and even won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 as part of the “national dialogue quartet.”

Now it accuses Saied of closing every channel of negotiation. “The government has shut down every door to dialogue,” said union spokesperson Sami Tahri, announcing a nationwide protest in Tunis. President Saied recently signalled in vague terms of plans to limit the unions’ political power.

Tensions spiked after the government revoked provisions that allowed union officials to take paid leave from their jobs, a practice rooted in independence-era agreements. Prime Minister Sara Zanzari called the system an abuse of public funds. The UGTT denounced her decision as “a declaration of war.”

Pressure has grown on both sides with pro-Saied protestors adding to the controversy. Saied’s supporters recently attempted to storm the union’s headquarters after a strike, accusing its leadership of “corruption” and “squandering the people’s money.” In response, Saied declared: “There are files that must be opened because the people are demanding accountability… so that their money can be returned to them.” Union leaders rejected the allegations as intimidation, insisting evidence should be tested in court.

On the streets, union members chanted “the union will not be humiliated, you guard of the Italians,” a reference to Saied’s controversial migration pact with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. That slogan sparked pro-government calls to prosecute UGTT leader Noureddine Taboubi.

Rights groups warn Tunisia’s last independent institutions now face dismantling. “After going after political parties and civil society groups, it appears the authorities are now targeting trade unions, one of the last pillars of democracy in Tunisia,” said Bassam Khawaja of Human Rights Watch.

The New Arab plus agencies, Magrebi.org