Political opponents are calling on the UGTT, the country's main trade union, to join them in the fight against Kaïs Saïed. But the trade union center is, for the time being, determined to play its own part.
After Tunisian politician Mohamed Brahmi had just been assassinated in July 2013, the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), the country's powerful trade union body, the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and crafts (UTIC), Tunisian employers, the National Bar Council of Tunisia and the Tunisian League for Human Rights launched a major national dialogue. In 2015, the quartet won the Nobel Peace Prize for its action. But in reality, it was the UGTT which, at the time, had been at the origin of this event, by calling for a national dialogue four days after the assassination of Brahmi.
In Tunisia, we know it only too well: the UGTT has long been rain and shine. From the "Black Thursday" of January 1978 and the general strike which had paralyzed the whole country, but also wavered a power that was nevertheless solidly installed, the trade unionists were used to playing spoilsport in politics. From Farhat Hached to Habib Achour, the leaders of the UGTT have always had a special place in Tunisia. Sometimes surpassing, by their actions, the opposition parties.
The role of the UGTT in popular struggles
The 2011 revolution was also partly successful thanks to the UGTT. “Never has a union in the Maghreb and the Middle East had such an important political role as that of the UGTT in the Tunisian revolution. From the start of the uprising in Kasserine, Thala and Sidi Bouzid, the premises of the regional unions served as the headquarters of the demonstrators, the regional leaders making available to them all the means of the central and supporting their demands,” summarizes Najet Mizouni.
Its omnipotence, the UGTT owes in part to its omnipresence in all sectors of the economy. Habib Achour said of his trade union center that "it brings together the garbage collector through the metalworker to the hospital-university doctor and university professors". But also to its history: its role in independence is not negligible, and no one in Tunisia, or almost, has forgotten it. Finally, the UGTT has often been close to the people, opposing the Neo-Destour and campaigning for democracy.
Almost eight decades after its creation, does the UGTT still have a role to play? Certainly. The disinterest of voters in politics is flagrant: this Sunday took place the second round of the legislative elections and the report is terrible. Indeed, with constituencies without known candidates and total disorganization, the abstention rate reached almost 90%. A sad record that shows that Tunisians will have a hard time turning to traditional political parties, whether in power or in opposition.
The appeal of the foot of the National Salvation Front
The historical opponent Ahmed Nejib Chebbi understood this: the head of the National Salvation Front (FSN), a coalition of several opposition parties, including the Islamists of Ennahdha, sent a message to the UGTT asking it to "work hand in hand to create change by the departure of Kaïs Saïed and going to an early presidential election".
It now remains to be seen how the central trade union will react, absent from the demonstrations of January 14, which commemorated the fall of Ben Ali. The reason ? The UGTT did not want to be associated with the political parties that had taken to the streets. Suffice to say that an alliance with the DSF is not necessarily on the agenda. But his fight against Kaïs Saïed could once again go through her. Will the UGTT take control of the struggle, as in 2011 or 2013? Whatever happens, the plant should not participate in a national dialogue proposed by Kaïs Saïed. The only solution will therefore be confrontation. And no one knows, today, what the consequences will be...