A hundred people, including “children and homeless”, attempted Thursday morning August 7, 2025 to force the headquarters of the Tunisian Labor Union (UGTT), according to a publication broadcast on the official union page and the declarations of its spokesperson, Sami Tahri, to the TAP agency.
Unionists present on site have formed a human dam to prevent the emergence. Sami Tahri, deputy secretary general in charge of communication, firmly condemned this act, qualified as “assault”, and held the authorities for responsible for its progress.
He recalled that following the recent strike in the transport sector, calls for the assault on the UGTT premises and the expulsion of its managers circulated on social networks. Some of these messages also called for the dissolution of the trade union organization, calls which, according to him, culminated today with the gathering of approximately 100 people in front of the municipal theater of Tunis, before they headed for Mohamed Ali square, where the siege of the UGTT is located.
“Unfortunately, the police, which had erected dams around Place Mohamed Ali, suddenly received the order to lift them, allowing these groups to reach the union’s seat, chanting slogans hostile to the organization, often abusive of people,” he said. He said the trade unionists showed restraint by avoiding physical confrontation, despite provocations.
Tahri has denounced practices which, according to him, recall those of the protection of the revolution, also evoking the attack on the UGTT siege in December 2012 and intimidation campaigns, such as garbage jets before union premises in certain regions.
The union official demanded the opening of a judicial investigation into these incidents, while reaffirming that the organization’s structures will hold a meeting in the coming days to decide the measures to be taken.
“To all those who think they can attack the UGTT or violate the law, we say that the trade unionists will defend the independence of their organization and the economic and social rights of the workers,” concluded Sami Tahri.
Tunisia: tensions in front of its seat, the UGTT denounces an orchestrated attack
