Tunisia, more demonstrations against the policies of President Saied
TUNIS - Tens of thousands of Tunisians have held massive demonstrations in eight different cities of the North African country to protest against the policies adopted by the government of President Kais Saied.
The demonstrators, belonging to the powerful Tunisian union UGTT, took to the streets today in various cities of Tunisia to protest against the arrest of one of their leaders, against the deterioration of the economic situation and to demand the return to a dialogue between the social partners . Epicenter of the demonstrations Sfax, the country's second city and economic capital, as well as the union's historic center of power.
"The government has failed to put the country on the road to economic and social reform. All it has managed to do is attack the union," UGTT leader Othman Jallouli said in a speech in Sfax. "Today any trade unionist can be fired simply for expressing an opinion," he said.
Bringing "solidarity from 45 million workers in Europe", the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Esther Lynch, also addressed the crowds in Sfax, giving a speech in defense of free trade unions. The demonstrators were protesting in particular against the arrest, at the end of January, of Anis Kaabi, head of the UGTT motorway branch. Kaabi is currently in pre-trial detention awaiting trial set for February 23, for having launched a strike by toll booths and thus causing financial losses to the public company Tunisie Autoroutes. For months, the UGTT has considered itself "target" by the Tunisian president Kais Saied, and has announced a series of protests which should culminate in a maxi march in Tunis on 11 March.
Another reason for the opposition of the UGTT to the government: the negotiations with the IMF for a loan of 1.9 billion dollars, which could lead to painful austerity measures and privatization of state-owned enterprises, which the union has always said it is against.
