2026: The Decisive Year for Tunisia’s UGTT in its Existential Struggle Against Authoritarianism

The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), a cornerstone of civil society since its 1946 founding, finds itself in an unprecedented confrontation. The government’s strategy of isolating and weakening the union has reached a critical juncture. Following a failed attack by pro-government elements on UGTT headquarters—an event that backfired by galvanizing public support—the state has shifted to a policy of systematic exclusion. It now circumvents the UGTT on core issues like wage negotiations, blocks mediation at all levels, and pressures private-sector employers to abandon collective bargaining. This is not merely a labor dispute; it is a calculated campaign to dismantle one of the last remaining independent power centers capable of challenging President Kais Saied’s consolidation of authority.

In response, the UGTT has drawn a line in the sand, announcing a nationwide general strike for January 21, 2026. This monumental decision coincides with the union’s complex preparations for a pivotal special congress in March 2026. Together, these events frame 2026 as a potentially decisive year that will determine whether the UGTT can survive as an independent social force or be relegated to a state-controlled entity.

Testing the water, buying time

The Authoritarian Playbook: A Strategy of Divide and Conquer
To understand the current crisis, one must examine Saied’s methodical approach since his July 25, 2021 power grab. Avoiding a multifront war, he has targeted key institutions sequentially to prevent a unified opposition. The independent judiciary was the first casualty, with dozens of magistrates dismissed after a smear campaign. This tactic exploited a fatal miscalculation by other civil society actors, who believed distancing themselves from the Ennahdha movement would spare them. As political injustices multiplied, any opposition was branded a “conspiracy.” The regime then turned to “intermediary structures”—the independent bodies that stand between the state and the citizen. At the top of this list stood the UGTT, whose historical legitimacy, deep-rooted regional networks, and mass membership represent the most significant structural barrier to absolute presidential power.

The Assault on the UGTT: From Harassment to Legal Strangulation
The offensive intensified before the summer of 2025. It employs a multi-pronged strategy:

• Legal & Institutional Sabotage: The publication of Decree 20 was a watershed moment. It restricted the union’s right to negotiate and suspended union secondment, a critical mechanism for union operatives. The goal is to normalize the idea that Tunisia “no longer has any need” for independent unions. This was compounded by the unilateral dissolution of the National Council for Social Dialogue, the formal tripartite (government, UGTT, employers) forum for negotiation.
• Unilateral Policy Imposition: The government bypassed the UGTT to revise the Labor Code, adjust the minimum wage, and suspend labor subcontracting. Most provocatively, it embedded a politically motivated, unilateral 4% public sector wage increase in the 2026 Finance Law. As UGTT spokesman Sami Tahri told Nawaat, this “constitutes a fatal blow to the bargaining policy… fundamental to social peace for decades.” It seeks to usurp the union’s core function.
• Complete Negotiation Blackout: After a transport strike in July-August 2025, Saied declared a total refusal to negotiate with any UGTT structure. Official notifications from labor inspectorates suspended all negotiation and conciliation sessions nationwide. This is not an administrative pause but a political decree aimed at rendering the union irrelevant.

The Attack That Backfired and the Shift in Tactics
The regime’s frustration boiled over on August 7, 2025, when government-aligned “thugs” stormed UGTT headquarters demanding its dissolution. This act of political violence, reminiscent of darker periods in Tunisian history, triggered a powerful backlash. Even critics of the UGTT leadership rallied to its defense, rejecting Saied’s replication of the strong-arm tactics used by past regimes. The UGTT’s massive counter-demonstration proved its enduring mobilizing power.

This failure forced the presidency to switch from direct confrontation to a strategy of suffocation. The order became total non-recognition: the government would no longer engage with the UGTT as a workers’ representative at any level. Crucially, this pressure extended to the private sector, where the government’s role is traditionally that of a mediator between the UGTT and employer unions like UTICA.

Eliminate the Union, ban negotiations

Choking the Private Sector: Collective Bargaining Under Duress
The government’s interference in private-sector negotiations reveals the depth of its campaign. As Taher Mezzi, UGTT Assistant Secretary General, explained, employer representatives now fear government retaliation for signing wage agreements. In sectors like banking, insurance, and finance, deals were reached only for employer representatives to suddenly withdraw. The subsequent union strikes saw no state-mediated reconciliation efforts—a stark break from precedent.

Mezzi revealed a telling detail: some companies are willing to grant increases but have secretly asked the UGTT not to publicize negotiations, fearing government wrath. This creates a climate of fear that paralyzes the normal social dialogue machinery. The government’s refusal to convene or sign agreements, even after international (ILO) encouragement, leaves the process in deadlock. The UTICA employer’s union, Mezzi notes, now simply refuses to negotiate, knowing the government’s position.

The UGTT’s Response: Mobilizing for a General Strike
Faced with this existential threat, the UGTT has embarked on its most significant mobilization in years. Through October 2025, its executive bureau, sector councils, and National Administrative Commission meticulously planned the January 21, 2026 general strike. This 14-month timeline underscores the strike’s gravity—it is a last-resort weapon, not a routine bargaining tool. The union is aware that Saied, who was infuriated by a mere sectoral strike, will not passively observe a nationwide stoppage. The government’s past mockery—epitomized by the 2022 photo of a laughing cabinet during a UGTT strike—is unlikely to be repeated. The stakes are now too high.

Pressure on employer representatives

Internal Fractures Amid External Pressure
The UGTT’s battle is not only external. It faces significant internal strife ahead of its March 2026 special congress. Conflicts rage over:
1. Leadership Succession: Heated disputes over appointing Slaheddine Selmi to replace Monem Amira in finance, with threats of resignation from factions supporting rival Mohsen Yousfi.
2. Congress Timing & Delegates: Pressure from the “group of four” to move the congress date forward, and fierce competition to control the selection of the 630 voting delegates. This “battle of the delegations” will determine the union’s future direction, as seen in the violent clashes that postponed the conference at the state oil company ETAP.

These internal divisions risk undermining the union’s unity at its most vulnerable moment. The December 2025 Administrative Commission meeting, marked by altercations and threats to boycott the general strike, highlights the precarious balance. A temporary truce was forged to ensure the strike’s success, but underlying tensions remain.

Government approval is the standard, however…

2026: The Crucible
Thus, 2026 presents a twofold existential challenge for the UGTT:
Externally: It must execute a successful general strike to prove its continued relevance and power, forcing the government back to the negotiating table or exposing the regime’s intolerance of any dissent.
Internally: It must navigate its special congress to address critiques of internal democracy, settle leadership battles, and emerge unified. Failure on either front could be catastrophic.

The outcome will resonate far beyond labor rights. The UGTT has historically been a “crucible of society’s dynamic forces” and a key pillar of Tunisian democracy since the 2011 revolution. Its marginalization or co-option would complete Saied’s dismantling of checks and balances, leaving a political vacuum. Democratic forces, increasingly cornered, may have to seek refuge in other, weaker organizations. 2026 will test whether Tunisia’s most venerable civil society institution can withstand an authoritarian onslaught, or whether the era of independent social partnership is coming to an end.

Formulating a response strategy

How the strike saved the special congress