John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
After months of negotiations and public protests, the government of Tunisia on Thursday reached a deal with the country’s umbrella labour union, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) to increase the wages of civil servants and those in the public sector by five percent every year till 2025.
Speaking on the deal on Thursday, the head of government in Tunisia, Najla Bouden said “Despite the delicate economic and financial situation, the government was keen to open negotiations on wage increases and to consolidate trust with the social partner in order to achieve the common objective of establishing social peace and supporting civil servants.”
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn June, UGTT called on its three million public sector workers to embark on strike against the government’s economic reforms and harsh realities in the economy after initial negotiations with the government failed.
Noureddine Taboubi, the leader of the union on Thursday said, “Our objective through this agreement is to establish social peace and to ease the tense social climate, in view of the very difficult social situation and the deterioration of purchasing power.”
Echaab, the newspaper of UGTT reported that the deal was signed on Thursday after five rounds of negotiation and it will kick off next month. The wage increases are expected to benefit 680,000 public sector and civil servants.
