“I regret the day I threw a rock at a police officer,” says a resident of Mellassine. 13 years after the revolution, public resentment toward the police is no less palpable in a neighborhood rife with drug trafficking, crime and misery. For many young men and women here, the only apparent escape route from their daily struggle is one heading overseas.
On October 20, the government and the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) reached an agreement to resolve the precarious working conditions of so-called “site workers” [ommel hadha’ir] who are hired by the state and work in local administration and agriculture. Yet many ‘site workers’ who had pushed authorities to resolve their status, think the agreement falls short of promises made to them by successive governments. The deal has sparked calls for protest across the country, including a mass mobilization in front of Parliament on Wednesday, December 9, a day that a ‘site worker’ coordination grouping has called a “day of rage.”
Chartered buses from l’Institut Français headed towards Gafsa to assemble at the 6th Youth Forum, which each year, celebrates decentralized cooperation between France and Tunisia. Behind the “support” of civil society appears to be the dissemination of a doctrine; one which claims that what will help boost start-ups is a solution for mass unemployment and marginalization. In light of some “success stories”, how many are left behind?
When one remembers, that the 2011 uprising was primarily triggered by economic and social disparities and that now those disparities are not only growing, but that nothing has been done to narrow the gap, it suggests that social explosions will inevitably continue.
For the past two weeks, some fifty women have assembled each day in front of the delegation of Jebiniana in hopes of a better life.
The State is the largest employer in the country. Immediately following independence, being hired by the Government was considered the foregone conclusion for a degreed graduate. Some people were even hired before they had actually obtained their degrees.
Karim Mejri, former counselor to Minister of Employment Saïd Aïdi, contributes to the national debate on employment in a nine part series on Nawaat.org. In this first installment, he examines the definition of unemployment and the latest statistics in Tunisia.
