The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) held Saturday a syndicate meeting to prepare for the strike of public sector employees next Thursday. All sectors of the public sector will probably participate in this strike to defend their rights, affirmed UGTT president Noureddine Taboubi.
The meeting followed the failure of negotiations between Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and the syndicate's president in an effort to sidestep the strike.
In previous meetings, Taboubi warned against the possibility of a new revolution erupting in Tunisia stemming from hunger.
Several syndicate sources confirmed that negotiations did not reach a positive outcome. They also revealed that the union insists on a salary raise and is moving forward with the strike.
Noureddine slammed the government, saying that the union will defend all causes and all the marginalized.
He explained that the wage hike was a social obligation and it should be fair and take into consideration public sector employees.
He also criticized the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying that it is “shameful” to talk about the state’s dignity and then wait for decisions to come from overseas.
“The people have dignity and they will defend it,” he vowed.
The government avoided during the past month a similar strike in the public sector (around 142 government institutions) after reaching an agreement on granting employees a salary raise.
