The Tunisian General Workers Union (UGTT) has warned it will call a nationwide general strike if the government ignores its demands for social dialogue, following last week’s attack on its headquarters by pro-government demonstrators.

Speaking after a meeting of the union’s executive board, UGTT spokesperson Sami Tahiri announced plans for a mass march in the capital this Thursday. He said the union would escalate its actions to a general strike if such assaults continue.

UGTT Secretary General Noureddine Teboubi condemned the attacks and the smear campaigns accusing the union of corruption. “The union is not exempt from accountability,” he said, “but we will defend the rights of working people to the end.” Teboubi also criticized the sudden lifting of security measures around the union’s headquarters, describing it as a move that left the building vulnerable to attack.

He emphasized that the UGTT does not seek confrontation but will use all legal means to protect its members from defamation and to hold attackers accountable.

President Qais Said, however, defended the protesters’ actions, framing them as an exercise of the public’s right to demand accountability. The UGTT remains one of the last major independent institutions in Tunisia, even as government pressure on civil society has intensified since Said dissolved parliament and consolidated power.

The tension between the presidency and the UGTT adds to growing concerns over Tunisia’s democratic backsliding, with Thursday’s march expected to serve as a major test of the union’s mobilizing power. (ILKHA)