The UGTT plans a protest on August 21 against perceived government attempts to undermine workers' rights and the use of intimidation to curb strikes, citing a three-day transport strike in late July. President Kais Saied seized power on July 25, 2021, and concentrated authority by sidelining parliament and political parties and revising the constitution to expand his powers. The UGTT retains the capacity to mobilise hundreds of thousands of members and functions as both an economic and political actor. The union predates independence, played a role in 1956 liberation, and helped lead the 2015 National Dialogue to avert political collapse. Tensions rose after pro-Saied protesters accused the union of corruption on August 7.
While the confrontation was inevitable, the union's power has been weakened, analysts say. Tunisia's General Labour Union (UGTT) is poised to take on President Kais Saied in a protest scheduled for August 21. The union called for a protest against what it says are government attempts to undermine workers' rights, and the use of intimidation to curb strikes, referring to a three-day UGTT transport strike at the end of July.
It was established even before Tunisian independence, and played a significant role in achieving that, he said of Tunisia's liberation from France in 1956. Since then, it's played both an economic role as well as a political role, such as in 2015, when it was the principal force behind establishing the National Dialogue, Meddeb continued, referring to a political crisis when the UGTT and three other civil society organisations helped prevent the collapse of Tunisia's post-revolutionary democracy.
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