Following a wave of arrests that saw some of the regime’s main opponents jailed on charges of “conspiring against state security,” Tunisia’s main union, the Union Générale des Travailleurs Tunisiens (UGTT), has called a general strike for January 21.
Faced with pressure from the government, UGTT Secretary General Nourredine Taboubi declared, “We will not be intimidated by your threats or your prisons. We do not fear prison.”
The UGTT played a central role in Tunisia’s democratic transition after 2011, but initially supported President Kais Saied when he suspended the powers of parliament in 2021 in what was considered by the opposition to be a coup d’état.
