TUNIS: Thousands of Tunisian workers staged a nationwide walkout on Thursday, the latest in a series of protests in the country, after the collapse of negotiations with the government over wage increases.
In recent months, Tunisia has been under pressure from international lenders, mainly the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to take drastic measures to revamp its economy.
On Thursday, civil servants rallied in front of the offices of the influential Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) in the capital Tunis and in other cities in response to the union’s call for a general strike.
Nourredine Taboubi, the head of the UGTT, sharply criticised the government’s economic policy and accused it of bowing to the IMF.
“The government is trading in workers’ livelihoods,” he told a mass rally of strikers in Tunis on Thursday. “There is a terrible conspiracy being concocted against the union from overseas,” Taboubi added, referring to the IMF.
“We will not be satisfied until the workers’ demands are met,” he said.
The one-day strike has paralysed rail and bus services in the capital. Many flights have also been cancelled at Tunis Carthage International Airport, plunging the facility into mayhem, witnesses said.
State carrier Tunisair operated only one flight from the airport on Thursday, carrying fans of the sports team Club Africa in heading to Egypt to support their squad in a continental football competition in Egypt, a media official from the airline said.
The action has also disrupted healthcare and mail services across the country.
Videos and pictures were shared online showing emergency departments closed in a number of public hospitals. — dpa
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