Tunisia civil servants join nationwide strike

Thousands of Tunisian workers demonstrated on Thursday in Tunis as part of a nationwide public service strike.

The initiative of the powerful workers’ trade union comes after stalled negotiations with the government on wage increment, within a tense political context.

The Tunisian General Labour Union is calling for a wage increase of between 15 and 30 euros per month for the 673,000 civil servants.

Donors have urged Tunisia to reform its economy and cut its budget deficit in order not to worsen record levels of inflation in the country.

Despite the progress recorded after the 2011 democratic transition, Tunisians say the government is far from reaching their social expectations.

The rise in prices, fuelled in particular by the fall of the dinar, the increase in taxes and unemployment which persists above 15%, have exacerbated social discontent. Riots broke out last January in several cities across the country in response to this.