Summary:

On 2 January 2023, ground transportation workers held a strike in protest of delayed wage payments. Metro and bus employees did not work, disrupting transport throughout the capital city of Tunis. The strike was reportedly organized by the Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT), the powerful labor union committed to defending Tunisia’s faltering public sector. UGTT has already scheduled a larger scale, two-day transport strike for late January that impacts air, land, and sea transportation infrastructure.

Outlook:  

Strikes of this nature are likely to continue as financial strain increases on Tunisia’s debt-laden government.  A larger UGTT strike, potentially impacting more forms of transit, is currently scheduled for later this month. The local economy will likely suffer follow-on effects from the transportation disruption, as people struggle to get to commute. Additionally, if airport operations are disrupted, there will be a further deterioration of trust with international investors and businesspeople. As the inflection point of multiple influential political groups nears, we anticipate that strikes and protests will be on the rise.

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