People take part in a general strike in the public sector in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 17, 2019. More than 750,000 civil servants on Thursday participated in a strike demanding salary increases throughout Tunisia under the instructions of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT). (Xinhua/Adele Ezzine)
TUNIS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 750,000 civil servants on Thursday participated in a strike demanding salary increases throughout Tunisia under the instructions of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT).
Speaking in a speech delivered at Mohamed Ali Square in Tunis, UGTT secretary general Noureddine Taboubi said the mobilization of the union will not stop after this general strike, adding that the UGTT's national administrative commission will meet on Jan. 19 to take the necessary escalation measures.
In his speech, Taboubi thanked the public servants for their support. Taboubi said the government had despised the people and officials, adding the sovereignty of the national decision cannot be the object of bargaining.
"What hurt me most as a Tunisian is when the government insisted that it had failed to get the green light from the International Monetary Fund," he said.
The deputy secretary general of the UGTT Sami Tahri said the trade union center remains committed to defending workers' rights, blaming the government for the failure of negotiations and the deterioration of citizens' purchasing power.
On the occasion of the general strike in the public sector, and on the instructions of the UGTT, tens of thousands of workers took part Thursday morning in a march at the Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis.
During this march, slogans denouncing the relations between the government and the International Monetary Fund were chanted.
All flights in and out of Tunis Carthage International airport were cancelled. Public transport, hospitals and other public services were also disrupted. Courses were suspended in various educational, university and training institutions.
A general strike in Tunisia's public sector had been simmering since Nov. 24, 2018, as the UGTT and the government were trying to seek a common ground over salary increases in the sector.
