Summary:

On 1 July 2026, the sectoral council of the Tunisian General Federation of Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies announced a new series of labor actions, including preparations for a sector-wide strike, with the timing and duration to be decided in the future after coordination with the union leadership. 

The decision includes calls for employees to wear red armbands and stage protest gatherings in front of key institutions such as the banking and insurance federations, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Central Bank of Tunisia. 

The union leadership reiterated its demands for wage increases for 2025, the reopening of stalled social negotiations, and the enforcement of existing legal provisions, while warning of a deteriorating social climate in the sector in the absence of government intervention. 

Outlook: 

While there was space for open negotiations between the government and unions during the recent three-day strike, the latest escalation suggests that those talks have not been translated into a mutually beneficial agreement. The dispute now appears set to continue, with unions opting to maintain pressure rather than pause mobilization. 

This points to a widening gap between union expectations and the way social dialogue is being managed, with limited room for compromise so far. With negotiations stalled, the financial sector is likely to face repeated disruptions as both sides remain entrenched in their positions, raising the risk of the dispute expanding into a broader social and political issue. 

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