Tunisia workers to stage nationwide strike on Jan. 17

By Yousra Wannas

TUNIS (AA) – Tunisian’s General Union of Labor (UGTT) on Saturday announced a nationwide strike on Jan. 17 to protest low wages.

The move is the latest sign of escalation by the country’s largest labor union to demand a pay raise for civil servants.

On Thursday, thousands of civil servants staged a mass protest outside the parliament to pile pressure on the Tunisian government to raise their salaries.

Thursday’s demonstration was staged to reject government plans to maintain the current wage levels -- without any increase -- in the 2019 budget law.