Tunisia's labour union UGTT calls for protest amid crackdown threats

France 24

a day ago

Tunisia 's powerful labour union UGTT has called for a major march in downtown Tunis on Thursday to "defend the union and its values" amid rising tensions with the country's president Kais Saied.
The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) – part of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning "national dialogue quartet" in 2015 – remains one of the few influential counterweights to Saied, whose critics have largely been jailed since his 2021 power grab.
In recent weeks, the UGTT says it has come under pressure.
Earlier this month, the union said a group of Saied supporters tried to storm its Tunis headquarters after videos showed several dozen people gathered outside denouncing "corruption" and "squandering the people's money".
Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia's civil society struggles to survive
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The following night, Saied said he shared the demonstrators' grievances, insisting they had not intended violence, contrary to claims by the union and rights groups, and called for union accountability.
"There are files that must be opened because the people are demanding accountability... so that their money can be returned to them," Saied said in a video posted on the presidency's official Facebook page.
"There will be no immunity for anyone who violates the law, and the law applies to everyone."
'Intimidation'
The small gathering near the UGTT followed a three-day nationwide strike organised by the union last month, which angered the president.
The Tunisian League for Human Rights called the protest "an attempt to dry up free expression and weaken civic space through intimidation, defamation and distortion".
Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, described Saied's rift with the union as "a new attack" on the institutions he seeks to dismantle.
"After attacking political parties and associations, the authorities now seem to have the labour movement -- one of Tunisia's last democratic pillars -- in their sights," said Khawaja.
Historian Abdelatif Hannachi said the confrontation reflects Saied's "mistrust of intermediary bodies and civil society groups", warning both sides may struggle to control their reactions if the conflict escalates.
The UGTT has vowed not to be silenced and called for a major march in downtown Tunis on Thursday to "defend the union and its values".
Its chief, Noureddine Taboubi, said the union's "voice is strong" and urged anyone with corruption claims to "go to court".
The government later banned "full-time union activities" among government workers without special permits.
Frustrations with the union
Founded in 1946, the UGTT played a leading role against French colonial rule and later resisted autocratic presidents Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
It was also central to the 2011 revolution that toppled Ben Ali and ignited protests across the Arab world.
With more than 700,000 members, the union still commands strong mobilising power. But some see Saied as tapping into public frustration with repeated strikes in transport and phosphate production -- key sectors in the country of 12 million.
Many, including Saied, view the strikes as a major drag on Tunisia's ailing economy.
Amid economic strain, many Tunisians decry a rollback in freedoms just a decade after the country's brief democratic period.
Since 2022, dozens of opposition figures, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders have been jailed on charges ranging from plotting against the state to spreading "false news".
Saied maintains that rights remain guaranteed by the constitution and that he does not interfere with the judiciary.
Human Rights Watch has urged the authorities to "end their intimidation and respect the right to freedom of association".
Thursday's march will test whether the UGTT can mobilise support, particularly after recent protests saw lower turnouts.
The union has warned it may call a nationwide general strike if talks with the presidency fail.