Tunisia's Labor Union Proposes Roadmap To End Crisis

The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), the country's largest syndicate, on Tuesday announced that it has prepared a roadmap to cruise the North African nation out of the current political crisis.

The UGTT said the roadmap will be handed to its executive board, but will not be approved until a Tunisian government is formed.

"It is not possible to present a roadmap before forming a government so that it does not occur in a vacuum," UGTT Assistant Secretary-General Sami Al-Tahiri said in a press statement.

He stressed that the union is still optimistic "in spite of the delicate and difficult stage [the country is going through]."

Al-Tahiri expressed optimism in the country's ability "to overcome the exceptional stage peacefully."

Last week, Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister.

Under the recent exceptional presidential decisions, MPs no longer have parliamentary immunity that protects them from being arrested.

Last week, the UGTT called for ensuring the safety of state institutions and preventing any tampering with their archives, documents, and properties "in view of the exceptional circumstances that the country is going through, and contributing to its rescue and cutting off the path for those who wish evil to Tunisia."

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among a group of Arab countries that witnessed popular revolutions in the early 2010s that toppled their ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara -