The General Labor Union of Tunisia (UGTT) announced Sunday the cancellation of a general strike that had been scheduled for January 21st. The strike was intended to advocate for labor rights and wage increases across the country.
The announcement was made by Salah Eddine Salmi, Assistant Secretary-General of the UGTT, during the 28th ordinary conference of the local labor union in Sfax. The conference saw a large turnout of union members from various regions and sectors, along with the presence of Assistant Secretaries-General Taher Al-Mazi and Othman Al-Jalouli.
According to Salmi, the general strike, initially announced on December 5th and slated for implementation on January 21st, is now effectively over. He attributed the cancellation to the expiration of the strike notice deadline, stemming from internal organizational confusion surrounding the timing of the union’s extraordinary conference. This confusion, he stated, impacted the preparedness of union structures for the strike.
Under the UGTT’s internal regulations, the conference was originally scheduled for 2027, following the five-year term of the current executive office elected in February 2022, led by Noureddine Taboubi. However, disagreements within the union leadership, coupled with opposition from both current and former union members, led to proposals to advance the conference date.
The strike’s cancellation comes days after Taboubi’s resignation, the reasons for which remain undisclosed. Taboubi had previously hinted at this step due to diverging viewpoints and internal conflicts within the executive office, with members divided between holding the electoral conference in March and postponing it until 2027.
Taboubi’s resignation occurs amidst a political impasse and an ongoing confrontation between authorities and intermediary bodies, including political parties and organizations, most notably the UGTT. Observers suggest that the UGTT is increasingly restricted from playing a role in social negotiations, particularly those related to wage increases.
Tensions between the UGTT and Tunisian authorities have been escalating in recent months, marked by mutual accusations.
