Tunisia’s UGTT prepare project to escape political crisis

Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) Noureddine Taboubi on Friday revealed that the UGTT is preparing a project to escape the political crisis in the country, which will soon be presented to the public.

This was disclosed during a speech by Taboubi while supervising a symposium on “Reforming the Higher Education System”, organised by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, on Friday and Saturday in Hammamet, north-eastern Tunisia.

Taboubi stated: “The union does not have any differences with the President of the Republic Kais Saied, and it supports the corrective path, provided that the reform vision is clear and the active national forces in the country are actively involved in this path.”

He added: “The UGTT is preparing a project and a vision that will soon be presented to the governing structures of the organisation and public opinion. The union supports the principle of starting to reform the educational, health and university system for the sake of the country’s interests and the interests of future generations.”

READ: Tunisia labour union calls on gov’t to take charge of economic crisis

Last Saturday, in a speech at Kasbah Square on the 69th anniversary of the assassination of union leader Farhat Hached, Taboubi called for a comprehensive national dialogue to restore the country to its democratic path.

He cautioned: “All indications warn of an imminent danger due to political failure and the absence of a programme to get the country out of the tunnel it is going through.”

Tunisia has been experiencing a severe political crisis since 25 July, when President Saied began taking “exceptional measures”, including freezing the competencies of Parliament, lifting the immunity of its deputies, abolishing the Body of Monitoring the Constitutionality of Laws, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, chairing the Public Prosecution, dismissing the prime minister and forming another new government.

Most of the country’s political forces reject these decisions as a “coup against the constitution”, while others support them and view them as a “correction of the course of the 2011 revolution”, which overthrew former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.