Tunisia: workers union strikes to protest toxic chemical plant

Protests in Tunisia have intensified over the past few days, as locals of the Gabès region are demanding the shutdown of the state-owned chemical plant. Tunisia’s powerful labour union, the UGTT, called for a strike in Gabès to bring all activities to a halt on October 21th, according to Al Jazeera via AFP and Reuters.

Most of the city’s inhabitants decided to participate in the strike by keeping their businesses closed and even shutting down public services, such as schools.

This strike follows after days of demonstrations by Tunisians who are expressing their anger and frustration after the phosphate chemical plant has negatively impacted their lives and the region’s environment for decades. Additionally, they reaffirmed their right to a healthy environment and dignified life in their home city.

Despite the strike, protests resumed and the angered citizens designed banners and placards to denounce the plant’s environmental damage.

The polluting waste from the CGT’s processing of phosphate has threatened the health of a significant portion of Gabès’ population since it started operating in 1972, especially the ones who are residing along the shore and in the vicinity of the chemical plant.

“Gabès wants to live” and “dismantle the polluting units” were some of the slogans that the crowd exclaimed to show their discontent at a situation that they say has been ignored for far too long.

Saoussen Nouisser, the UGTT’s local representative, stated that on October 21th, everything was closed in Gabès to show that the population is angry at the appalling environmental situation of their marginalised city.

The city in southern Tunisia is home to 400,000 people and protests have erupted there in the past few weeks to demand the immediate shutdown of chemical plant.

They also expressed their frustration at the government’s inaction and the numerous false promises that have been sent their way, with the plant’s activities resuming in the distance. Demonstrators have also called for the release of protesters who were arrested by Tunisian authorities after some violent night protests.

Tunisian President Kais Saied stated that Gabès was facing an “environmental assassination”, and he later put the blame on previous governments for the region’s destroyed ecosystems and health issues faced by the citizens, such as as cancers and respiratory illnesses.

The chemical firm represents an indispensable revenue for the state since its finances are currently in the red. The government said that it’s looking for solutions alongside international partners to strike a balance between resuming production and curbing the environmental impact of the plant.

Saied has been in power for the past six years, and the North African country’s leader ran his first election campaign on a populist agenda to access Tunisia’s highest office.

However, the unrest might be one of the populist leader’s biggest challenges that could greatly damage his popularity if he follows in the steps of past administrations with inaction and false promises.

Al Jazeera via AFP and Reuters, Maghrebi.org