Strike in Algeria following tax increase

Algerian teachers and medical workers have threatened to strike later this month in protest of government budget proposals that include tax increases and salary freezes to offset the sharp fall in gas revenues.

The strikes, scheduled to take place between November 27 and 29, are likely to cause public unrest according to lawmakers who were debating the 2017 budget proposals today.

The proposals include an increase in sales tax from 15 to 17 per cent, gasoline prices, taxes on cigarettes and freezing public sector salaries.

“The list of new taxes will push people to the streets,” Nora Mahiout, opposition member of the Front of Socialist Forces, said during a debate in the lower house of parliament.

The proposals have been criticised for amassing fortunes for the government and well-connected tycoons while Algerians continue to struggle due to inflation and austerity measures.

Legislators from the pro-government National Rally for Democracy (RND) party have criticised the budget for being inadequate in solving the ongoing economic problems and shrinking revenues.

“The government doesn’t have a viable strategy for solving the crisis…it has the tendency to turn to temporary solutions that are not up to the economic crisis that the country is undergoing,” RND lawmaker Salah Dakhli said.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal appealed “for the understanding of the Algerian people in these difficult times.” He justified the government’s policies in choosing to raise taxes so that the national debt could be controlled and price subsidies preserved.