Tunisia’s powerful UGTT union calls nationwide strike for January 21

Tunisia’s main union, the UGTT, has announced a nationwide strike for January 21 to demand wage-increase negotiations and protest an escalating government crackdown on critics.

The walkout could cripple key public sectors and put pressure on a government already in financial difficulties. It also raises the risk of unrest amid growing public frustration with poor services.

The union has played a central role in Tunisia’s post-2011 democratic transition from decades of dictatorship. It initially supported President Kais Saied and his decision to shut down parliament in 2021, but has since pushed back against what it’s called his attempt to entrench one-man rule.

While the UGTT initially supported Saied’s decision to shut down parliament in 2021, it has opposed his subsequent measures, describing them as an attempt to entrench one-man rule.

The union’s move against the government reflects growing frustration over eroding freedoms and its crackdown on opposition leaders, journalists and civil society groups

The country is also facing a chronic cost-of-living crisis that has pushed many Tunisians to the brink.

On Saturday, hundreds of people took to the streets of Tunis to protest the arrest of three opposition figures charged with conspiracy.