General Strike Over Public Sector Wages Paralyzes Traffic Across Tunisia - Reports

(@ChaudhryMAli88)

General Strike Over Public Sector Wages Paralyzes Traffic Across Tunisia - Reports

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) A one-day general strike held by civil and public servants, claiming their right to a wage increase, on Thursday, resulted in the disruption of vehicular traffic across Tunisia, local media reported.

On Monday, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) called for a general strike in the civil service and public sector amid the country's economic difficulties.

According to the TAP news agency, the strike caused the disruption of operation of Tunis Carthage International Airport with almost all scheduled flights being canceled.

Road traffic had been largely hampered by the industrial action, while the operation of railway stations had also been disrupted, the outlet noted.

According to the news agency, public servants and employees of state-run companies did not come to work in the largest Tunisian cities.

Schools, hospitals and media outlets have suspended their work throughout the country as well.

Tunisians reportedly gathered on the main street of the country's capital of Tunis to demand the government's resignation due to its attempts to reduce the spending on public sector wages.

The International Monetary Fund, which allocated $2.9 to Tunisia as part of its four-year Extended Fund Facility back in 2016, has required that Tunisian authorities implement reforms, including those that imply a reduction in salary expenditures to employees of state-funded organizations. In particular, the Tunisian government is required to cut wages in the public sector from the current 15.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 12.4 percent by 2020, which entails no salary increases in the coming years.