A strike organized by land transport workers in Tunisia led to widespread paralysis across the country, on Wednesday, with the interruption of buses and metro, in a move that embodies the scale of frustration with the deterioration of public services, as well as pressure on the government of President Qais Saeed in light of a suffocating economic crisis, according to a report from Reuters news agency.
The “Transport University”, which is affiliated with the “Tunisian General Labor Union”, began a 3 -day strike starting from Wednesday, to demand the improvement of the financial status conditions, working conditions, and urgent reforms in the transport sector, which suffers from a severe deterioration in the infrastructure and a limitable fleet.
The strike sheds light on the growing discontent with the aggravation of the economic and financial crisis in Tunisia, in light of the scarcity of external financing.
This strike comes at a time when the Tunisians suffer from a continuous response in public services, especially in the health, transport and education sectors, in addition to the repeated interruptions in the supply of drinking water and electricity; Because of the poor financing and public investment. However, President Qais Saeed blames those who say that they are “conspirators and tunnels seeking to target the state and fuel social tension by fabricating crises in these sectors.”
And the disruption of the transport strike on Wednesday is the daily life in the major cities and rural areas; This forced tens of thousands to search for alternative transportation. A Reuters correspondent noted that the metro stations in Tunisia were completely free of metro vehicles and passengers; Only a few citizens who did not know that there was a strike, while the buses stopped completely, and the passengers resorted to private cars and taxis, and even motorcycles that are not licensed to transport. A young man named Ayman Al -Omairi in the capital, while he was waiting without success at a bus station. There is no transfer, and we have no jobs, and everything is increasing and bad. ”
For its part, the “University of Transport” said that the strike was 100 percent successful during its first day, and warned that the public transport sector is in a very difficult situation, and called for the necessity of its rapid and effective repair.
The Ministry of Transport announced that there are signs of a breakthrough in the transport sector crisis, after buying hundreds of buses in the recent period, and promised that the “federation” financial demands are “unfair”, and that they can be met when public transport companies’ revenues improve.
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