Upon the instructions of President Kais Saied, the executive has decided to terminate “union secondment” as well as the automatic withdrawal of dues from the salaries of employees affiliated with the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT). A heavy-handed move which followed the government’s decision to suspend negotiations with the union organization in several strategic sectors. The UGTT described these decisions as anachronistic and announced a union meeting and march in protest of what it considers to be an attempt to destroy the organization. Things became more clear after the head of state himself defended the pro-regime militia who had attempted to attack UGTT headquarters and demand its dissolution.
The current power struggle between the UGTT and the government in place is not unprecedented in the history of relations between the union organization and successive regimes since—and even before—the country’s independence. Despite arrests, lawsuits against historic union leaders, the violent repression of demonstrations and social protests, as well as permanent restrictions imposed on union action, the UGTT still occupies a distinguished place in the political landscape, thanks to its historical weight and significant membership base.
Union secondment: an administrative circular with political ends
Issued by the Office of the Presidency on August 14, 2025 and addressed to ministers and secretaries of state, Circular 11 stipulates that “all authorizations relating to union secondment that have been granted in the past are suspended as of the publication date of this circular.” The reason offered: “this measure is illegal, and not established in the general statutes of civil service or in the general statutes of state-run establishments and companies.” What is more, the government urges all concerned structures to “update the lists of agents at the service of union organizations” and “invites them to return to their original assigned positions without delay.” It notes that administrative and legal measures will be taken in case of non-compliance with the provisions laid out in the circular.
The government published this measure three days after the emergency meeting held by the UGTT’s National Administrative Commission (CAN) on Monday, August 11. During the course of that meeting, the Commission decided to hold a big march on Thursday, August 21 in response to the attacks targeting the organization as well as the campaigns orchestrated by the regime to incite violence. Beyond this, the rally aimed to defend the right to organize and to demand a return to the social negotiations that had been unilaterally suspended by authorities. And so UGTT leadership threatened a general strike if the government did not respond favorably to its demands.
The circular stirred major controversy owing to the timing of its publication, when the power struggle between the government and the Union was at a breaking point: failed negotiations, strikes held in key sectors such as transportation, the government’s non-compliance with agreements previously concluded by both sides. Despite controversy, however, union members believe that the government’s decision to suspend union secondment will have no real impact since the majority of the members within the organization’s national executive bureau are retirees or regional officers. They note that, since 2022, union secondment has already been in the process of a phaseout, with seconded members in important unions such as those in the sectors of education and health having already returned to their jobs.
Relations between both parties have always been marked by tension, hostile statements and protest movements. This last measure, however, brought these tensions to a breaking point, especially because it was preceded by a smear campaign targeting the Union for its stance on key issues of late and, in particular, its adamant calls for a serious dialogue in several sectors. Under Kais Saied, dozens of union members have been arrested and imprisoned for their participation in union action, to the end of weakening the union movement and marginalizing the UGTT socially and politically.
It is true that relations between the UGTT and successive regimes—both before and after the revolution—have often been tense, with occasional periods of calm. However, most governments have adopted a more or less practical approach with regard to this powerful union organization for the sake of balance, the only safeguard of long-lasting social peace. In contrast, Kais Saied’s regime has pursued a philosophy of submission and the marginalization of intermediary structures, including unions.
His motto: “The people want” [echaâb yourid]. The UGTT has not been impressed, and has denounced the authoritarian and repressive agenda which threatens union action and which has resulted in the arrest of many union members, including some of the organization’s prominent figures. This agenda was also behind the expulsion of Esther Lynch, secretary general of the European Confederation of Unions, who the UGTT had invited to Tunisia in 2023. Whereas the organization stands by its support for the decisions of July 25, it has never been in agreement with the President, nor with any one of his successive governments. Relations between Kais Saied and Noureddine Taboubi, for instance, are unmistakably chilly.
An attack aimed at discrediting civil and political society
UGTT spokesman Sami Tahri observes that what the organization is currently facing “falls within the continuity of an attack which has lasted for years and taken diverse forms: smear campaigns, restrictions, threats against the right to organize, and even lawsuits, imprisonment, arbitrary job terminations and transfers of union leaders.” As Tahri explained to Nawaat:
The true reasons behind this plot against the UGTT have to do with its stance on key issues: rejecting abusive debt, economic dependence, the privatization of state-owned companies, the freezing of salaries, the lifting of subsidies and protection of workers’ rights. There is no question that the UGTT is targeted because it stands in firm opposition with these policies.
Tahri also criticizes how populist discourse has been used to blame the UGTT for the deterioration of the country’s economic and social situation, accusing it of corruption, betrayal and conspiracy. He affirms that the Union “will pursue its commitment to defending Tunisians’ right to a decent life, and to the organization’s independence from all regimes.” Tahri’s remarks following the extraordinary meeting held by the UGTT’s National Administrative Commission convey the organization’s conviction to remain firm in its positions at any cost, though it favors social dialogue.
UGTT leadership is aware that this holding period with the regime could be short-lived, especially following their secretary general’s assertion that government militia were behind the attack on Union headquarters. He also commented that the President’s reaction denying the assailants’ intention to storm the organization’s headquarters was tantamount to justification and hinted at prior knowledge of the “demonstrators’ ” intentions, and potentially even coordination with them. This is undoubtedly what pushed the members of the National Administrative Commission to cross a Rubicon, calling for a march and threatening to launch a general strike. And so, after having long avoided confrontation by opting for compromises and agreements, the UGTT now finds itself compelled to respond to attacks which threaten its very existence, as it silences the deep conflicts that continue to destabilize the organization from within.
The attack against Tunisia’s largest union organization cannot be dissociated from the broader context of the offensive launched against civil society organizations, political parties, the media, the judiciary and activists of the social protest movement. A scenario which reveals the scope of absolute power held by the President, who has become impervious to the slightest critique, opposition or contestation. The longevity of such a system can only be ensured by restricting the freedoms of organization and the press, the criminalization of political action by the opposition, and the multiplication of obstacles to associative actions through dilatory procedures, meddlesome investigations and trials of opinion which target any figures who contradict the government’s official discourse.
The picture would not be complete without mentioning the government’s attempt to bring the country’s largest union organization to its knees, first by marginalizing its role and excluding it from the political and social scene, then by launching legal proceedings against union leaders and arresting some of them in fabricated cases relating to their union activities. This attack has been pursued in the sabotaging of social negotiations, in tandem with campaigns orchestrated to denigrate and arouse hatred towards the UGTT and its national role. The climax of this offensive was the storming of its headquarters, in perfect harmony with the regime’s discourse.
Regimes come and go, but the UGTT remains
For decades, the UGTT has occupied a central role on the national stage. Beginning with the country’s independence, it participated in the governments of the late president Habib Bourguiba and supported his economic and social agenda. It maintained this momentum until the revolution, when its prominent position in a changing landscape enabled the organization to impose its demands—union-specific but also political—upon successive governments. Despite all the attacks that have targeted it over the decades (including, in 2012, the attempted takeover of UGTT headquarters by Ennahdha supporters who accused the organization of “sabotaging the economy”), the UGTT has demonstrated a great capacity for negotiation and confrontation. Even during periods when the government managed to rally the support of union leaders—for instance, under Ben Ali, when the UGTT supported the candidacy of the former president—a vast number of unionists opposed this position. Local and regional union leaders participated in the protest movement against the regime, especially in the mine basin and also during the revolution from December 17 to January 14. Indeed, it was not by chance that Place Mohamed Ali was the stage for the first demonstrations in support of the revolution in the country’s capital.
Against a backdrop of increasing political and social tensions, price increases and arbitrary prosecutions against leftists, Arab nationalists and unionists by the Bourguiba regime, the famous general strike of 1978—preceded by multiple stoppages in the sectors of mining, transport, education and textiles—marked the first direct confrontation between the UGTT and the government. The breaking point was reached when Habib Achour and the organization’s leadership announced their resignation from the party in power, pushing the Destourian party militia (known as “Sayeh’s militia”) to attack UGTT offices. These events constituted an unprecedented escalation of the conflict between the regime and the Union, and resulted in dozens of deaths, hundreds of wounded demonstrators, and the arrest of many union members. The government then relieved Habib Achour of his duties, brought him to trial, and hand-picked its own leadership to head the organization. However, Achour returned to his former position, enabling the UGTT to regain its independence from the government. Since this episode in its history, the organization has strengthened its demands for political and organic autonomy, and all attempts to bring the Union to heel have failed.
Ben Ali tried to subjugate the UGTT through his policy of “domestication” by placing his own people at the head of the organization, under the leadership of Ismail Sahbani who had supported Ben Ali’s candidacy. Despite this attempted takeover, union members turned out en masse to participate in the mine basin protests of 2008, and supported the social movements which unfolded in Sidi Bouzid in December 2010, and which led to the regime’s downfall.
During the post-revolution period, the UGTT—under its former secretary general Houcine Abassi—played a major political role when the Troika government was in power, and drove the national dialogue which led the Ennahdha movement to relinquish power. Strikes and union demands became effective weapons against soaring prices, the deterioration of purchasing power and the policies of impoverishment imposed by subsequent governments. Relations with these governments were marked by tensions around social and economic demands. Throughout the period of democratic transition, Tunisia experienced chronic instability with the rise and fall of several governments, and the creation and dissolution of political parties. However, the UGTT remained a constant and stable force amidst an ever-changing climate.
The UGTT has always been influential on Tunisia’s political scene. After the country’s independence, the organization actively participated within the party and the government before becoming involved in protests at the end of Bourguiba’s reign. After its “domestication” under the Ben Ali regime, the UGTT managed to reclaim its leadership in the public space during the revolution. In all of these stages, successive regimes treated the Union with extreme caution, avoiding any direct confrontation. Today, the regime in place is hoping to marginalize the organization, deny its role and exclude it from national debate by confining its demands to strictly union-related issues. However, the UGTT’s response through its Administrative Commission is unwavering. The Union affirms that it will continue to defend the right to organize, in its capacity as a social organization representing the diversity of Tunisian citizens, and to fight for their dignity and purchasing power in the face of policies of systematic impoverishment. An organization which also defends social justice, civil and individual liberties, the independence of the judiciary and a democratic, republican system.
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