Day: June 28, 2024

Tunis: Director General of the Arab Labor Organization (ALO) Fayez Ali Al Mutairi, said, on Friday, during his meeting with Social Affairs Minister Kamel Maddouri, that the ALO is willing to promote cooperation and increase the capacity building of all stakeholders in the social field.

During the meeting held at the ministry’s headquarters, Maddouri reviewed the fruitful partnership between the Social Affairs Ministry and the ALO, expressing commitment to implement bilateral projects and promote decent work, social development, inclusion and social protection so as to consolidate common Arab action in all sectors.

He spoke of the importance of providing supporting to the Arab Centre for Labour Administration and Employment (ACLAE) in order to increase its influence on the national, Arab and international levels, given its role in the field of studies and social research as well as its ability to cement ties between all Arab countries.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: A 7% increase in the guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG) has been decided for workers in the non-agricultural and agricultural sectors, which will be governed by the provisions of the Labour Code as of next July, with retroactive effect from May 1, 2024, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, President Kais Saied, announced, Thursday, during a meeting with the Minister of Social Affairs, Kamel Madouri, a 7% increase in the guaranteed minimum wages in the non-agricultural and agricultural sectors governed by the Labour Code, which includes the pensions of pensioners affiliated to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and recipients of old-age pensions from the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM).

The increase was decided in favour of the compensation scheme for accidents at work and occupational diseases and the old-age pensions of the National Retirement and Social Welfare Fund (CNRPS).

According to this decision, the basic minimum wage will
be 491 dinars 504 millimetres for workers with a 48-hour week and 417 dinars 558 millimetres for workers with a 40-hour week.

According to the same press release, this increase also affects the guaranteed minimum agricultural wage, which will be 18 dinars 904 millimetres per day, while the minimum wage for specialised agricultural workers has been raised to 19 dinars 912 millimetres per day.

This increase will apply to the minimum wage for skilled agricultural workers, which will be 20 dinars 800 millimes per day.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

TUNIS: The memorandum of understanding of The Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB) was signed, Friday afternoon, in the City of Cultures in Tunis, between the Arab State Broadcasting Union (ASBU), the Arab organization of Communications Satellites (Arabsat) and “Globecast”, a French company providing telecommunications services for the media industry, mainly for audiovisual broadcasters (TV channels and radio).

The signing ceremony was chaired by Director General of ASBU Abdul Rahim Suleiman, President and Managing Director of Arabsat Alhamedi Alanezi, and President and Managing Director of Globecast Philippe Bernard.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 24th edition of the Arab Radio and Television Festival taking place from June 26 to 29.

The terms of the agreement stipulate the distribution of Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB) on various platforms to viewers worldwide. The Arab bouquet is a strategic project which makes it possible to reduce the enormous expenses usually paid by each ASBU member body, read
s a statement of the ASBU.

ASBU is an Arab professional organization founded in 1969 to strengthen inter-Arab cooperation in the audiovisual sector, Radio and Television. The ASBU Academy, launched in April 2017, offers regular training sessions to develop the skills of audiovisual professionals, a sector based on digital technology and which is constantly changing. The Academy is equipped with ultra-modern equipment, HD digital studios and rooms for multimedia activities and conferences.

Since its creation in 1981, the Arab Radio and Television Festival has been organized in Tunis, home to the headquarters of the Arab Radio and Television Union (ASBU).

In 2015, the Festival became an annual event.

The Festival is organized by the ASBU in partnership with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the Tunisian Radio and Television Establishments and “Arabsat”.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The vegetation and forest cover in the locality of Kesra, Siliana governorate, known for its carob trees, is the subject of several reforestation campaigns.

The latest campaign targeted 330 hectares of forest in the Aliliga locality, which was the scene of a fire in 2018 that destroyed more than 600 hectares of Aleppo pine forest.

As part of the reforestation campaign, public works companies planted 200 hectares of carob trees in the forest. In addition, 130 hectares of various forest tree species were planted under agreements with Tunisian civil society associations (Soli and Green and others), including argan, eucalyptus and Berber cedar, also known as Atlas cypress, a species endemic to North Africa, as well as Makthar cypress, also an endemic species.

“Despite the climatic conditions, the results are generally satisfactory and the success rate of the plantations is encouraging. The trees planted are in good health,” says Abdelhamid Smeti of the Siliana Forestry Department.

According to Smeti, t
he novelty of this reforestation campaign is the introduction of jujube cultivation, a species whose value is still little appreciated by botanical science and little known to the general public in Tunisia.

These fruit species are exceptional examples of multipurpose perennial plants with great potential in the agricultural systems of the country’s arid, semi-arid and even desert zones,” according to the book “Les jujubiers en Tunisie”: Des rhamnacées aux valeurs ignorées” by Abdelwahed Laamouri, a Tunisian doctor of agronomy.

The reforestation campaign in the Kesra forest is being organised as part of the 141st anniversary of the creation of the Directorate-General of Forests (DGF).

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: President Kais Saied met Thursday at Carthage Palace with Social Affairs Minister Kamel Madouri to discuss the increase in guaranteed minimum wages and pensions and subcontracting in the public and private sectors.

The meeting dealt with “a number of issues, including a 7% increase in the guaranteed minimum wage in the private sector for active workers starting in July 2024, retroactive to May 1, 2024, and a second increase of 7.5% starting January 1, 2025. This will automatically lead to an increase in pensions in the private sector, also retroactive to May 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025, which will include about one million pensioners, according to a presidency statement.

The meeting also addressed the issue of sub-contracting in the public and private sectors and fixed-term contracts.

President Kais Saied stressed that these issues can only be resolved in a radical way that breaks with the past and also cuts off the path of those who want to take advantage of this period by using workers in place of
others so that the new rules do not apply to them.

“The will is firm and must be embodied in new legislation aimed at eliminating all forms of precarious work and trafficking in human beings,” the head of state was quoted as saying in the presidency’s statement. “This is in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, which aims to guarantee the fundamental rights of workers and to ensure the right of every citizen to work in decent conditions and with a fair wage.”

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: An awareness-raising campaign will be organised in Jendouba and Kairouan governorates with the aim of improving the working and living conditions of rural women and their employers in Tunisia.

The campaign is organised as part of the Joint Programme: Accelerating Progress Towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE), in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and UN Women.

The campaign aims to promote the economic empowerment of rural women and their employers through a set of initiatives using various media outlets.

With the aim of ensuring greater interaction with the recipients, a workshop will be held on July 1 at the GDA El Baraka Tbainia in Ain Drahem (Jendouba) to inform rural women about their rights to work and the available opportunities, to raise awareness among rural employers of the importance of offering decent and fair working conditions, and to promote gender equal
ity in rural areas by encouraging inclusive working practices.

This workshop will bring together some 30 women working in agriculture, together with their employers and representatives of the Women Agricultural Development Grouping (French: GFDA) and Agricultural Development Grouping (French: GDA).

The workshop will include interactive sessions and practical exercises where participants will

share their experiences, discuss the challenges facing them on a daily basis and propose innovative solutions to improve their working conditions.

Employers will be made particularly aware of the importance of creating a respectful and fair working working environment, highlighting the economic and social benefits of decent work.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: A partnership agreement was inked on Thursday between the Education Ministry and the Banque Nationale Agricole (BNA) to improve the educational infrastructure in Tunisia.

By virtue of this agreement, the BNA will finance a project to refurbish and maintain the sports centre and an art room at the Sadiki high school, in addition to improving the infrastructure of several educational institutions, hence ensuring favourable conditions for education and learning, reads a ministry press release.

The project will cost around TND 400,000, and a joint committee between the ministry and the BNA will set up to monitor the implementation of the work so as to ensure quality and compliance with deadlines.

This initiative aims to provide a better learning environment for pupils and to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors in in Tunisia.

The agreement was signed by Education Minister Saloua Abbassi and BNA Director General Ahmed Ben Moulahem.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Number of cervical cancer cases is rising, with almost 600 new cases reported each year, of which 70% are detected at the 4th stage, said Professor Khaled Rahal head of the carcinological surgery department at the Salah Azzaiez Institute.

At a scientific meeting organised Friday by the National Office for the Family and Population under the theme of “Female Cancers,” the professor indicated that screening for cervical cancer is carried out late due to insufficient awareness-raising and prevention operations.

The number of women suffering from cervical cancer and breast cancer will increase due to malnutrition, sedentary lifestyle and smoking, all of which increase the risk factors, he added.

Taking the floor, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Ben Arous Regional Hospital Hajer Bettaieb said that cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women, stressing the importance of vaccination from the age of 12.

Vaccination against cervical cancer will be introduced into the vaccinat
ion calendar from 2025 onwards in a bid to reduce the number of cases, she added.

For his part, National Office for the Family and Population CEO Mohamed Douagi told TAP that early detection of cervical cancer is important as it is the most common cancer in women, pointing out that the Office is working to strengthen the culture of equality and free healthcare through health caravans nationwide .

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: El Hafsia children’s complex was inaugurated by Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly Amel Belhaj Moussa, following renovation works in cooperation with the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA).

The renovation works of this complex, worth TND 350,000, includes maintenance work inside and outside the building, connection to the electricity, drinking water and air conditioning networks, fitting out the administrative offices, kitchen and catering areas, as well as equipping the leisure clubs and play areas.

The minister spoke of the importance of reopening this center, given its location in a densely populated working-class district, commending its role in supervising more than 70 young girls and boys through cultural and leisure activities.

More than 106 children’s centers were built across all regions, offering high-quality educational, cultural and sporting activities, she recalled.

The ministry is working on promoting the educational and social role of these facili
ties under a new strategy aimed at launching computer and robotics clubs, educational games and individual and group sports, as well as encouraging reading, she indicated.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Tunisian artist and theatre actor Mourad Karrout passed away on Friday, announced the Cultural Affairs Ministry.

Karrout kicked off his theatre career with a play, Mnamet Ateres, in 1962. He started directing in 1986.

He had over 63 plays to his name.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse