Tunisia: hundreds of public media workers face unemployment 

The head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, Mehdi Jelassi, warned on Monday that 700 public sector employees who work for media institutions linked to the regime of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali face unemployment. The authorities in Tunisia have moved to confiscate the institutions.

Jelassi called on the Minister of Social Affairs, the president and the government to intervene and solve this issue to avoid a repetition of the tragic scenario of the Cactus Production Company, whose employees were deprived of their income.

The union leader said that the state had not fulfilled its responsibilities towards these institutions. “Nobody appointed to head Shams FM radio, for example, performed their duty to bring in necessary advertisements and financial support for the institution,” he claimed.

Dozens of Tunisian journalists had earlier organised a protest in front of the government headquarters in Kasbah Square and called on the authorities to engage in dialogue to search for solutions to save the public media institutions. They threatened to boycott the upcoming legislative election if their request is not met.

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