Tunisian civil servants have gone on strike around the country to protest the failure of negotiations with the government for wage increases, amid plunging buying power and soaring inflation.
Thousands gathered Thursday in front of parliament with chants of "shame on the government" and calls to be given their "rights."
Public institutions, including in far-flung regions, were paralyzed by the strike, although minimal services were provided in hospitals. Only the defense and interior ministries worked regularly.
Tunisia has some 670,000 civil servants, and more than 15 percent of the state budget goes to paying their salaries.
The head of the powerful UGTT union which called the strike, Noureddine Tabboubi, vowed that "we will resist until we get our rights."
He told protesters, "We'll get the raises."
The turnout of the strike observed by the civil service sector on Thursday is estimated at 95%, said Deputy Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) in charge of civil service Monem Amira.
Tabboubi had announced that the strike in the civil service sector would go ahead after the failure of negotiations between the labor union and the government on a pay rise. A meeting of the UGTT’s administrative committee is planned for Saturday to decide on other escalating steps.
UGTT demands raise in public sector employees’ salaries, while opposition parties accuse the government of submitting to the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Tunisia allocated 14.1% of next year’s budget to public sector salaries. However, if the government approves the raise, the percentage will go up again and this will obstruct Tunisia’s negotiations with the IMF.
Government spokesperson Iyad Dahmani admitted that the citizens’ purchasing power hasn't deteriorated and the solution was not restricted to raising salaries but required a number of social procedures.
