Tunisia gov’t, union reach deal to end teachers’ strike

By Adil Essabiti

TUNIS (AA) - Tunisia’s largest labor union on Thursday concluded a draft deal with the government with a view to ending an ongoing strike by high school teachers.

"This morning, after several marathon negotiation sessions with Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, we reached a draft agreement to end the strike," Noureddine Taboubi, secretary-general of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGGT), said.

“Secondary education officials are now expected to study the draft agreement, in line with union bylaws,” he said.

Taboubi did not, however, provide any details as to the contents of the draft agreement.

Since Dec. 3, members of Tunisia’s Secondary Education Union, which operates under the auspices of the UGGT, has refused to give exams to protest what they say are inadequate teachers’ salaries.

High school teachers also demand the right to voluntarily retire at the age of 55 rather than 60, as is the case currently.

On Wednesday, thousands of high school teachers demonstrated in Tunis after negotiations with the Education Ministry broke down.