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Tunisia Government, Labor Union Fail to Agree on Wages

Tunisian activist speaks in front of anti-government protesters in Tunis, Tunisia, in this picture taken from social media. (File Photo: Reuters)
Tunisian activist speaks in front of anti-government protesters in Tunis, Tunisia, in this picture taken from social media. (File Photo: Reuters)
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Tunisia Government, Labor Union Fail to Agree on Wages

Tunisian activist speaks in front of anti-government protesters in Tunis, Tunisia, in this picture taken from social media. (File Photo: Reuters)
Tunisian activist speaks in front of anti-government protesters in Tunis, Tunisia, in this picture taken from social media. (File Photo: Reuters)

A scheduled strike for Thursday is likely to go ahead after Tunisia’s government and the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) failed to reach a deal on raising the wages of civil servants, union and government officials said.

UGTT official Hafedh Hfaidh reported no progress on the negotiations with the government, saying the union will go on strike Thursday.

A government source told Reuters the negotiations had failed despite a new proposal from the government, without providing any details.

The government held negotiations with the UGGT hoping to end the strike, as Minister of Social Development Mohammed al-Traboulsi said he was optimistic about the talks. However, UGTT Sec-Gen Noureddine Taboubi refused the government’s proposal and confirmed that the Union is preparing for Thursday’s strike.

Taboubi denied local media reports about calling the strike off, saying that such rumors aim to create confusion and turmoil. He didn’t rule out the possibility of calling for a general strike in all sectors in case the government did not respond to their requests.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi warned against the strike’s negative impact.

Speaking on the 8th anniversary of the revolution, Essebsi wished to avoid the strike "at all costs … because its negative consequences will be heavier than the benefits that can be obtained in case all demands are met.”

Financial expert Ezzeddine Seaidan estimated financial losses of no less than $100 million if the strike was held. These include public sector losses, saying Thursday's move will have dire consequences on the private sector, aside from its ramifications on the transportation sector.

The expert also warned that the strike will affect foreign investments, interest rates, and even foreign loans.

In other news, two rights groups have filed a lawsuit accusing the Tunisian President of abuse of power after he pardoned a jailed party official, Borhane Bsaies.

This prompted NGOs al-Bawsala and I-Watch to lodge a joint formal complaint, saying the President’s pardon was motivated by “partisan interests that run contrary to... the values of justice, equity and good governance, in a Tunisia that is riddled with corruption.”

Last October, Bsaies was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of taking improper payments during the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

But in November, Bsaeis, who is close to Essebsi's son and Nidaa Tounes leader Hafedh Caid Essebsi, was pardoned by the President.

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Palestinian Authority Suspends Al Jazeera Broadcasts

A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP
A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP
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Palestinian Authority Suspends Al Jazeera Broadcasts

A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP
A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP

The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera and on Thursday accused it of incitement, which the news channel compared to Israeli practices.

Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

In September, armed and masked Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah also raided the Al Jazeera office, saying it was "used to incite terror."

The military issued an initial 45-day closure order, prompting the Palestinian foreign ministry at the time to condemn "a flagrant violation" of press freedom, AFP reported.
On Thursday, the PA insisted its own suspension measure was "temporary," adding its decision followed a complaint from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate concerning the network's coverage.

"These measures shall be applied until Al Jazeera chooses to act in accordance with basic media ethics, including its duty to prevent deliberate disinformation, ban the glorification of violence, and end the incitement to armed mutiny," the PA said.

The syndicate, which represents about 3,000 Palestinian journalists, said several had filed complaints against Al Jazeera for "biased media coverage on its platforms, including incitement, misleading reports, and content that stirs internal discord".

The PA's decision includes "temporarily freezing the work of all journalists, employees, crews and affiliated channels until their legal status is rectified due to Al Jazeera's violations of the laws and regulations in force in Palestine", the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported late Wednesday.

The channel aired images of what appeared to be Palestinian security officers entering the network's office in Ramallah and handing over the suspension orders.

Al Jazeera condemned the decision, saying it "aligns with Israeli occupation practices targeting its media teams".

It accused the PA, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, of "attempting to deter Al Jazeera from covering escalating events in the occupied Palestinian territories" including in Jenin and its refugee camp.

The PA's security forces have been engaged in weeks of deadly clashes with armed militants in Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Hamas, rivals of Fatah which dominates the PA, condemned the decision to ban the network.

"This decision aligns with a series of recent arbitrary actions taken by the Authority to curtail public rights and freedoms, and to reinforce its security grip on the Palestinian people," Hamas said in a statement.

"We call on the Palestinian Authority to immediately reverse this decision ... It is crucial to ensure the continuation of media coverage that exposes the occupation and supports the steadfastness of our people."

Islamic Jihad, allied with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, also criticized the decision.

"We condemn the authority's decision to close Al Jazeera's office in Palestine when our people and our cause are in dire need to convey their suffering to the world," the group said in a statement.

Tensions between the network and the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas have risen in recent weeks following the channel's coverage of the clashes in Jenin.

In late December, the channel condemned what it said was an "incitement campaign" by Fatah against the network in some areas of the occupied West Bank.

"This campaign follows the network's coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and resistance fighters in Jenin," it said in a statement at the time.

The security forces of the PA have been engaged in deadly clashes with gunmen since early December, triggered by the arrests of several militants.

They are fighting members of the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with either Islamic Jihad or Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

Fatah's rivals have accused PA forces of aiding Israel.

Al Jazeera continues to work in Gaza, where Hamas seized control in 2007.

The violence in Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of armed groups and a frequent target of Israeli military raids, has killed 11 people including PA security personnel, militants and civilians.