Traffic bottlenecks were caused around Tunis on Monday as tram and bus workers in the Tunisian capital went on strike over unpaid wages and the absence of an end-of-year bonus.
The strike is the most recent in a series of similar protests as Tunisia struggles with an economic crisis that has frequently resulted in shortages of necessities like cooking oil and gasoline.
The country of North Africa is attempting to negotiate a roughly $2 billion rescue with the International Monetary Fund despite having debts that exceed 100% of its gross domestic product.
Responding to a demand from the transport division of the potent UGTT trade union federation, workers at the state-owned public transportation company Transtu struck, and hundreds of others demonstrated outside the prime minister’s office.
According to Transtu, “the majority” of transportation services in the almost three million-person metropolis were halted by the strike.
According to the transport ministry, the “wildcat strike paralysed transportation throughout Greater Tunis… interfering with the operation of public services and citizen interests.”
Salary payments for Transtu employees began on December 29, according to the statement, and the “true cause of the strikes is a new set of financial demands, in the form of a yearly bonus” to more than 7,000 employees, totalling more than $5 million.
According to the statement, the bonus was being paid and “all interested parties” were working together to prevent further hiccups.
During the November school holidays, when many families use public transportation, Transtu, which operates about 250 bus routes and 15 tram lines, was also closed due to a strike.
A number of politically delicate actions, such as the progressive elimination of subsidies on essential items and the restructuring of public companies, have been demanded by the IMF. These include the monopolies in water, energy, and grains, as well as Transtu.
Since President Kais Saied staged a stunning power grab in July 2021, the country that gave birth to the Arab Spring has also been plagued by political divides.
