Thousands of Tunisian trade unionists have taken to the streets in cities across the country to voice their discontent with President Kais Saied’s policies and the arrest of a top union official. The protests, which took place in eight cities, were organized by the powerful UGTT workers’ federation and saw demonstrators chanting “Tunisia is not for sale!” and “No to removing subsidies!”, while some raised loaves of bread as a symbol of protest at rising living costs.
The protests were sparked by the arrest of Anis Kaabi, a senior UGTT official, on January 31 following a strike by toll barrier workers. The union has described the arrest as “a blow to union work and a violation of union rights”. Othmane Jallouli, the UGTT’s deputy chief, told demonstrators that “the government has failed to put the country on the path of economic and social reforms. All it has succeeded in is attacking the union”.
The protests come at a time when Tunisia is in drawn-out talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan, which the UGTT has warned could entail painful austerity measures. The coordinated arrests of several anti-government figures including politicians, a journalist, two judges and Kaabi have raised fears of a wider crackdown on dissent and prompted the UN Human Rights Office to call for their immediate release.
In response to the protests, Tunisia expelled the head of the European Trade Union Confederation after she took part in them. President Kais Saied declared Esther Lynch, who is Irish, persona non grata and said she must leave Tunisia within 24 hours. Her participation in the protest and remarks she made there were “blatant interference in Tunisian affairs”, the government said.
Political analyst Tarek Kahlaoui told Al Jazeera from Tunis that at the same time that UGTT is galvanising their base, “They are reaching a point of finalising the political initiative of dialogue. They are trying to have a dialogue with the president. Until then, I don’t think that we have a cohesion of Tunisian opposition groups, between civil society and political groups. There are still major divisions within the political landscape in Tunisia.”
Tunisia is in the grip of a long-running economic crisis that has worsened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with regular shortages of basic goods from sugar to petrol. UGTT members protested across Tunisia at the same time as the Sfax demonstration, from Tozeur in the south to Bizerte in the north. More demonstrations are planned in other cities in the coming days, concluding with a rally in the capital, Tunis, early next month. Kaabi faces trial on February 23 on charges of “using his position to harm public authorities”.
Thousands of Tunisian trade unionists have taken to the streets to express their discontent with President Kais Saied’s policies and the arrest of a top union official. The protests, which took place in eight cities, were organized by the powerful UGTT workers’ federation and saw demonstrators chanting “Tunisia is not for sale!” and “No to removing subsidies!” while some raised loaves of bread as a symbol of protest at increasing living costs.
The UGTT has warned that talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan could entail painful austerity measures. The coordinated arrests of several anti-government figures including politicians, a journalist, two judges and Anis Kaabi, a senior UGTT official, have raised fears of a wider crackdown on dissent and prompted the UN Human Rights Office to call for their immediate release.
In response to the protests, Tunisia expelled the head of the European Trade Union Confederation after she took part in them. President Kais Saied declared Esther Lynch persona non grata and said she must leave Tunisia within 24 hours. Her participation in the protest and remarks she made there were “blatant interference in Tunisian affairs”, according to the government.
Political analyst Tarek Kahlaoui said that while UGTT is galvanising their base, “They are reaching a point of finalising the political initiative of dialogue. They are trying to have a dialogue with the president. Until then, I don’t think that we have a cohesion of Tunisian opposition groups, between civil society and political groups. There are still major divisions within the political landscape in Tunisia.”
Tunisia is suffering from an economic crisis worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with regular shortages of basic goods from sugar to petrol. UGTT members protested across Tunisia at the same time as the Sfax demonstration, from Tozeur in the south to Bizerte in the north. More demonstrations are planned in other cities in the coming days, concluding with a rally in Tunis early next month. Kaabi faces trial on February 23 on charges of “using his position to harm public authorities”.