Summary:

On 28 September, several hundred Tunisian police officers organized a demonstration in the city of Sfax to protest the detention of eight of their colleagues. The demonstration, organized by the National Union for Internal Security (SNSI), was held in response to perceived incursion upon the freedom of members of the Tunisian security forces to unionize. The demonstration comes as SNSI has setup union rally points across Tunisian, some of which refused dispersal orders from local security forces.

Outlook:  

The 28 September demonstration in Sfax comes on the heels of the recent publication of a letter from Tunisia’s security forces union expressing concern about politicization and infringement upon the rights of security forces personnel. While public sector employees across Tunisia are frustrated by low wages and rising costs, security forces in particular view themselves at a particularly vulnerable intersection of political and economic fragility as President Kais Saied continues to push forward his reforms in the face of concerns about Tunisia’s democratic future both domestically and internationally.