Thousands of members of Tunisia’s leading political force, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) also known as the Tunisian General Labour Union took to the streets across eight cities in the country in protest against President Kais Saied’s policies, on Saturday (February 18). Subsequently, the country’s government expelled the head of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) for taking part in these demonstrations. This comes as the trade union has accused Saied’s government of stifling freedoms including union rights. The recent protests also come days after dozens of journalists and rights activists protested in the Tunisian capital Tunis which was organised by the SNJT journalists’ union following the arrest of the director of popular private radio station Mosaique FM, Noureddine Boutar. At the time, protesters had accused the government of “repression” and intimidation of the media.
