Tunisia's largest union stages nationwide strike over pay

Rail, bus and air traffic stopped in Tunisia on Thursday (Jan. 17) as the powerful UGTT union staged a one-day nationwide strike to protest against the government’s refusal to raise the salaries of 670,000 public servants, Reuters reported.

Thousands gathered in front of UGTT headquarters in central Tunis chanting: “The people want the overthrow of the government”. The same slogan was used in 2011 when mass protests toppled strongman Ben Ali and kicked off “Arab Spring” uprisings across the region.

Tunisia is the only Arab country that has undergone a transition to democracy in the wake of those protests.

The one-day strike hit airports, ports, schools, hospitals, state media and government offices. At Tunis Carthage airport, most flights were canceled and check-in counters closed, leaving hundreds of angry passengers stranded.

“The power belongs to the people”, protesters chanted at a central UGTT rally near the central Habib Bourghiba Avenue, the scene of mass protests in 2011, also calling for salary increases. Police showed a strong presence but did not interfere.

Tunisia is under pressure from the IMF to freeze public sector wages as part of measures to reduce its budget deficit.

The public sector wage bill has doubled to about 16 billion dinars ($5.5 billion) in 2018 from 7.6 billion in 2010.