Strike over delay in salaries cripples Public transport in Tunisian capital

Representational Image. News 18

Tunis: Metro and bus traffic in Tunisia’s capital came to a halt on Monday after employees of the state transport company went on strike over wage and bonus delays.

While the administration of President Kais Saied is experiencing its worst financial crisis, the strike draws attention to the financial issues public companies are facing and are on the verge of bankruptcy.

“The union is protesting the delay in the payment of wages and bonuses,” said Hayat Chamtouri, a company spokesperson.

“The company’s financial situation is extremely difficult,” she added.

The transportation strike is a show of force for the powerful UGTT union, which has promised a series of protests.

Against what it referred to as “the government’s marginalisation of public companies,” the union, which has around 1 million members, has approved a two-day strike by workers in the air, land, and sea transport industries on January 25 and 26.

Thousands of people struggling to find transportation in the capital were enraged by the strike.

“Today, we don’t have milk, oil, sugar, or coffee. We also no longer have access to buses that transport us to work. “Tunisia has devolved into an unfathomable hell,” said a woman waiting at a bus stop told Arab News.

People blocked roads in the impoverished Intilaka neighbourhood to protest the strike.

Tunisia is battling the International Monetary Fund for a $1.9 billion loan in exchange for unpopular reforms such as spending cuts, restructuring of public companies, and reductions in energy and food subsidies.

Last month, Economy Minister Samir Saeed predicted that Tunisia would face a difficult year, with inflation exceeding 10%.

The strike will put more pressure on President Saied’s government, which is facing growing opposition 17 months after seizing executive power in what his opponents called a coup.

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