Trade Union Calls for Countrywide Strike on December 13

Protesters gather in front of the UGTT headquarters on Tuesday, December 4 (Photo credit: Paul Rosenfeld)

The executive body of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) decided yesterday night after a meeting that lasted more than five hours to organize a general strike throughout the whole country on December 13.

This decision comes in the wake of the attack against the headquarters of the UGTT in Mohamed Ali square in Tunis and the aggression against some of its members.

The strike will last only one day, and will include both the private and public sectors.

“The general strike is to be held to protest against the brutal attack and acts of vandalism on the headquarters of the UGTT that took place on December 4. Our main demand is to return honor to our organization,” said Mouldi Jendoubi, member of the executive bureau in the UGTT.

He added, “The general strike is not an aim, but a means. We resort to strikes only in cases if we fail to find solutions with the opposite parties.”

“It is our sole tool of expression.”

In a press conference yesterday, Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi stated his belief that calling for a general strike is purely political and not based on social aims. Ghannouchi’s statements came shortly before the UGTT announced that a general strike for December 13 was confirmed last night.

A member of the regional office of Ennahdha in Sfax, Habib Idris said to Mosaique Fm yesterday that although his party finds no justification for a general strike, it still supports and respects the decision of the UGTT.

The same reaction was shared by Souad Abderahim, a National Constituent Assembly member affiliated with Ennahdha. “I do respect the decision taken by the UGTT, yet I would prefer that it leave room for dialogue with all political parties,” she said to Tunisia Live.