Leader of Tunisia's main union resigns ahead of planned national strike

The head of Tunisia's main labour union submitted his resignation on Tuesday, a union official told AFP, as it faces both an internal struggle and a deepening crisis with the authorities.

Noureddine Tabboubi has since 2017 headed the UGTT union confederation, which has yet to formally accept his decision.

Two years earlier, the union won the Nobel Peace Prize along with three other Tunisian organisations for their role in the country's democratic transition.

Tabboubi "submitted his resignation to the registry", a UGTT official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He said Tabboubi was resigning due to "internal conflicts, especially around the date of the next congress".

The UGTT has suffered a deepening internal crisis in recent months, with some of its members accusing Tabboubi's team of a lack of transparency and demanding new leadership.

Critics of Tabboubi organised a recent sit-in at the UGTT's headquarters in central Tunis and called for an extraordinary congress to elect new leaders.

But beyond the internal dynamics, the organisation also faces massive pressure from President Kais Saied's government, which has since 2021 staged a growing crackdown on civil society and dissent as a whole.

The union has called for a general strike on 21 January.

(AFP)