Tunisian General Labour Union Calls New Strike On February 20-21

On Saturday, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) called for a new strike on February 20-21 aimed at forcing the country's government to increase wages for civil and public servants

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2019) On Saturday, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) called for a new strike on February 20-21 aimed at forcing the country's government to increase wages for civil and public servants.

"It was decided to hold a general strike of the public sector on Wednesday and Thursday, 20 and 21 February," the union said in a statement.

On Thursday, local media reported that Tunisians gathered for a general strike 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 $2.8 billion to Tunisia as part of its four-year Extended Fund Facility back in 2016, 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.