Powerful Tunisian trade union protests over economic woes and ‘arbitrary arrests’
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Roshan Amiri
- . February 19, 2023
- . Update: February 19, 2023 10:21 am
Thousands of members of the North African country’s powerful UGTT trade union held demonstrations in eight cities on Saturday over President Kais Saied’s policies, worsening economic woes, and ‘arbitrary arrest campaigns’ by the authorities. The protesters accused Saied of trying to suppress basic freedoms, including union rights.
The protests followed recent arrests of a number of anti-government figures, including politicians, two judges, the head of Tunisia’s main independent news outlet, and a senior UGTT official.
In addition to raising concerns over a wider crackdown on dissent, the coordinated arrests even prompted the UN Human Rights Office to demand the immediate release of the detainees.
Prior to the recent wave of controversial detentions, another UGTT official was arrested last month over a strike by toll booth workers and 14 other transport senior officials in the union were placed under investigation this week over a different strike.
The powerful trade union, which has more than a million members, says the government is trying to suppress freedoms of expression in order to deflect attention from growing economic woes.
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In his first comments after the recent wave of arrests, President Saied accused “traitors” of being responsible for price increases and food shortages and wanted to fuel a social crisis.
Tunisia is currently in drawn-out talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan, which the union warns could necessitate painful austerity measures.
A number of further demonstrations are planned in other cities, concluding with a rally in the capital city of Tunis in March.
