Tunisia's trade unions chief rejects IMF reforms
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The head of Tunisia's UGTT rejects the conditions set by the IMF, given Tunisians' low salaries, lack of means, rising poverty, and unemployment.
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The head of Tunisia's UGTT trade union confederation, Noureddine Taboubi (Archive)
The head of Tunisia's UGTT trade union confederation, Noureddine Taboubi, rejected Thursday conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan to bail out the country's struggling economy.
"We reject the conditions set by the IMF, given Tunisians' low salaries, lack of means, rising poverty and unemployment," Taboubi told reporters.
The global lender has called for "ambitious reforms" to tackle the heavily indebted country's public finances and reform its state-owned companies.
Painful options
The IMF's regional chief Jihad Azour confirmed Wednesday that the fund was set to begin formal talks on a new financial aid package "in the coming weeks," pointing out that the economic fallout from the Ukraine war made it even more pressing.
Azour had reiterated an IMF call for "swift implementation of ambitious reforms," saying Tunisia "needs to urgently tackle its fiscal imbalances" including by replacing generalized subsidies with transfers targeting the poor.
Last Thursday Taboubi, whose union members last week organized a public sector strike, said the UGTT rejected "the painful options they're talking about."
"We support reforms, but we don't share the vision of reforms supported by this government," he pointed out.
He also indirectly criticized Tunisian President Kais Saied, who in July last year sacked the previous administration and suspended parliament in moves opponents have called a coup.
Government plans to start tackling dire economic issues
The UGTT, a co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts in a previous national dialogue following Tunisia's 2011 revolution, initially backed Saied's moves but has become increasingly critical as Saied extended his controversial decisions.
On Thursday, Taboubi said: "When there is a government produced by institutions and elections, it will have the legitimacy to start negotiations over reforms."
The IMF has previously conditioned any bailout deal on the union's consent.
It is noteworthy that Azour visited Tunisia this week, meeting with President Kais Saied and other officials, and welcomed government plans to start tackling dire economic issues exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
