On the 22nd of November 650.000 workers of the public sector striked for higher wages and better living conditions. Schools, universities, municipalities and ministries were shut down. It was the biggest strike in Tunisia in the past five years. It is also a protest against the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which warned not to raise the wages, “to avoid severe debt problems” and threatened with stopping financial “support”.
The union UGTT called a general strike give pressure on the government not to agree with the IMF. The UGTT denounced the campaign from the government on social media, accusing the UGTT and strikes of being the main cause of the current economic crises in the country. The strike is also targeting the cuts to the price subsidies of basic necessities like bread, eggs, mild and medicine, as well as that of petrol. About 90% of the public sector worker took part in the strike.
On 24th of November there were thousands of people demonstrating in front of the Bardo parliament, as well as there were demonstrations in the cities of Sfax, Gabés, Sidi Bouzid and Kasserine.
This strike shows that institutions like IMF etc. are instruments to defend the interests of the imperialists. The strike for higher wages is also a struggle against imperialist oppression and it‘s institutions.
