Tunisia’s UGTT Mulls 'Compromise' Ahead of Strike

Workers stage a protest in front of the national union headquarters in Tunis. AP Photo
Workers stage a protest in front of the national union headquarters in Tunis. AP Photo
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Tunisia’s UGTT Mulls 'Compromise' Ahead of Strike

Workers stage a protest in front of the national union headquarters in Tunis. AP Photo
Workers stage a protest in front of the national union headquarters in Tunis. AP Photo

Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union confederation, locked in a dispute with the government over wage raises, has said it is open to compromise ahead of February strikes -- "but not at any price".

Secretary General Noureddine Taboubi told Agence France Presse that the Tunisian General Labor Union wants to be involved in elections later this year.

The UGTT staged a mass public sector strike last week as talks with the government on social and economic reforms remained deadlocked.

It has since called further strikes for February 20 and 21, demanding bigger public sector wage increases in a country battling soaring unemployment and inflation of 7.5 percent.

"We don't want to strike for the sake of striking," Taboubi said in an interview Monday.

"We have announced another strike in a month, in the hope that we'll find a compromise. But not at any price."

Public sector employees make up around a quarter of Tunisia's workforce.

The UGTT has demanded higher public sector pay rises than those on offer by the government, as well as guarantees protecting some of Tunisia's many publicly owned companies from privatization.

It said some 90 percent of public sector workers had observed the January 17 strike, which caused mayhem in the country's airports, despite calls from President Beji Caid Essebsi for them to stay at their posts.

Taboubi said Monday that negotiations were still in progress, noting there were four weeks left to reach an agreement.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has said the state of Tunisia's public finances means it cannot meet the UGTT's demands.

But the UGTT has sharply criticized the government for accepting a 2.4-billion-euro loan from the International Monetary Fund in exchange for pledges to carry out sweeping economic reforms.

Taboubi said it would play a role in this year's presidential and parliamentary elections, pledging to remain "peaceful and civilized".

"I repeat: this has nothing to do with wanting to bring down this government or any other," he said.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
TT

US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.