The steering committee of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), on Thursday, called for the relaunch of social dialogue and the opening of a new round of negotiations in the civil service and public sector.
In a press release issued after its meeting in Hammamet on Thursday, the steering committee demanded an increase in the guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG) and the implementation of the agreements of February 6 and September 15, 2023.
It called on the government to hold an assessment meeting on the economic and social situation in the country to examine its impact on the deterioration of wages.
The steering committee expressed concern about the decline in the purchasing power of citizens as the month of Ramadan approaches, the shortage of basic goods and the deterioration of social services, as well as the government’s failure to address the acute crisis facing the country by resorting to ‘populist and contradictory rhetoric.’
It condemned what it described as “campaigns of slander and defamation orches
trated by government supporters against the trade union centre and its structures.” It called on the authorities to stop applying double standards in dealing with cases, according to the same press release.
The steering committee called on the judiciary to speed up the examination of the cases brought by the UGTT against “its aggressors” and called on trade unionists to defend their organisation.
It stressed the UGTT’s rejection of the government’s persistence in monopolising decisions, refusing dialogue and undermining rights and freedoms, including trade union freedoms, and called for the repeal of Decree 54, an end to vindictive trials and the release of trade unionists.
The steering committee reiterated the UGTT’s position to put an end to all forms of precarious employment, including subcontracting in the public and private sectors, worksite mechanism, subcontracting contracts and substitute teachers.
‘These issues can only be addressed and resolved through serious dialogue with the labour organisati
on,’ it pointed out.
It also called on the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) to complete the signing of the riders, while urging the Tunisian agriculture and fisheries union to open a dialogue on the implementation of the framework agreement.
On another level, the UGTT condemned the massacres perpetrated by the American-Zionist axis against the Palestinian people with official Arab complicity and reiterated its solidarity with the Palestinians in the face of the crimes committed by the Zionist entity.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse