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Tunisia Raises Minimum Wages on Labor Day

People rally in Tunis during a nationwide strike against the government's refusal to raise wages,January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
People rally in Tunis during a nationwide strike against the government's refusal to raise wages,January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
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Tunisia Raises Minimum Wages on Labor Day

People rally in Tunis during a nationwide strike against the government's refusal to raise wages,January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
People rally in Tunis during a nationwide strike against the government's refusal to raise wages,January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo

Tunisia's government announced on Wednesday raising the minimum wage for workers as well as pensions for hundreds of thousands of private-sector retirees by 6.5 percent.

The move, which coincided with Labor Day celebrations, aims to defuse discontent over economic hardships in the country.

This came two days after thousands of protesters took to the street in the central city of Sidi Bouzid against marginalisation and deteriorating economic conditions.

Meanwhile, hundreds also rallied in the northern city of Kef to demand jobs.

A government statement reported by Reuters, said Prime Minister Youssef Chahed had approved a rise in the monthly minimum wage for industrial and agricultural workers of 6.5 percent to 403 dinars ($133).

A 6.5 percent rise in pensions for 700,000 retirees in the private sector was also approved.

The International Monetary Fund has previously pushed Tunisia to freeze public-sector wages - the bill for which doubled to about 16 billion dinars ($5.5 billion) in 2018 from 7.6 billion in 2010 - to reduce them from about 15.5 percent of GDP now to 12.5 percent in 2020.

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Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)

Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.

"Nothing has changed (on the ground)," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.

Asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on implementation.

Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains "catastrophic".

"There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege," he said.

Safadi said Israel allowed the entry of 40 to 50 trucks days ago from Jordan but that was "far from being sufficient" for the besieged enclave.

EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of Monday's meeting that there have been some signs of progress on Gaza aid but not enough improvement on the ground.

Israel's continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, a joint United Nations report said last month.