Summary:

On 7 August 2025, hundreds of supporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied rallied outside the headquarters of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), demanding its suspension. The protest came just days after the union staged a disruptive three-day nationwide transport strike that paralyzed land travel across the country.

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Demonstrators accused the UGTT leadership of being under the sway of criminal groups and called on the president to intervene. Meanwhile, the union claimed the rally was orchestrated by state-backed actors as an intimidation tactic. Police intervened to separate the president’s supporters from union members holding a counter-protest, affirming their commitment to safeguarding the UGTT’s independence.

In response to the rising tensions, the General Transport Federation announced on 9 August the postponement of a planned strike at Tunisian airports, originally scheduled for 12 and 13 August, aiming to prevent further escalation and allow additional time for dialogue.

On the same day, President Saied addressed the escalating tensions during a meeting with Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzeri. Without naming individuals, he denounced the UGTT leadership, calling for judicial cases to recover “stolen” public funds and accusing certain actors of corruption and sabotage, even linking them to recent damage to public infrastructure.

He portrayed the current UGTT leadership as betraying the legacy of revered union figures Tahar Haddad and Farhat Hached, insisting that the struggle for justice and service to the people would continue “until the dawn of certainty appears.” The President stressed that “the law applies to everyone” and promised no immunity for those who break it.

The rift deepened days later when Prime Minister Zenzeri issued a circular order putting an end to the long-standing but illegal practice of seconding public employees to union posts while they remained on the payroll of their original institutions without providing any service. The directive demands that all such agents be identified, reinstated to their posts, and that prior authorizations be revoked, with sanctions for non-compliance.

However, the UGTT leadership downplayed the measure as outdated since 2022 and largely symbolic, noting that only a handful of agents still benefit from such arrangements, mostly having retired or left union roles. They argued the circular, affecting at most one or two cases, was more a political gesture to appease a partisan base than a response to a real issue.

Outlook: 

The confrontation between the Tunisian government and the UGTT is likely to remain a major political flashpoint in the coming months.

While the postponement of the airport strike suggests a temporary easing of tensions, the president’s rhetoric and the prime minister’s administrative measures indicate a broader effort to limit the union’s political, social, and economic influence, including its role in labor policy and public-sector mobilization.

The UGTT’s characterization of these actions as largely symbolic suggests it may continue to resist through legal challenges, strikes, or public mobilization.

The standoff highlights the polarized relationship between the government and Tunisia’s most influential labor organization. Some view the UGTT as one of the few public institutions retaining independent influence in Tunisia, raising potential domestic and international concerns about government actions under President Saied, with implications for social stability, public services, and the broader political landscape.

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