The deputy secretary general of the Tunisian Labor General Union (UGTT), Sami Tahri, estimated on Thursday at the microphone of Diwan FMthat the circular issued by the government’s head aimed at removing detachment for union activity “Intervenes in a context conducive to stirring war against trade union law”.
According to him, this decision is part of a political logic wanting to show that the government and the power in place “go forward in the restriction of union freedoms”.
Sami Tahri stressed that this circular “confirms an nonexistent reality on the ground”, since, according to him, “union leave has almost disappeared since 2022”. He thus considers this text as a gesture “purely intended to provoke or galvanize public opinion and supporters, and nothing more”.
According to circular n ° 11, dated August 11, 2025 and sent by the government’s head of the ministers and secretaries of state, All leave authorizations for union activity granted in the past are canceled from August 11.
The text also enjoins ministers and secretaries of state to immediately draw up the list of agents, in ministries and all the institutions and public structures placed under their tutelage at the central, regional and local levels, which are made available to trade union organizations, and to invite them to immediately join their original positions.
It provides, in the event of non-compliance, taking administrative and legal measures against the agents concerned.
