Tunisia: President and labour union at odds

Tunisian President Kais Saied is currently on a path to discord against the country’s most powerful labour union, the UGTT, as reported by Maghrebi Week on 25th August.

Tensions heightened after the government revoked provisions that allowed union officials to take paid leave from their jobs, with Prime Minister Sara Zanzari describing the provision as “an abuse of public funds” – this was denounced by the UGTT as a “declaration of war.”

The union accuses Saied for limiting negotiations, and has taken to the streets to demonstrate against him following this, leading to calls to arrest the leader of the UGTT, Noureddine Taboubi.

Maghrebi Week