The Never-Ending Escalation of the Current UGTT Leadership
The current leadership of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) has reached new heights of escalation, with the administrative commission recently decreeing a general strike on January 21st. The announcement of this strike did not come as a surprise to Tunisians, as they had already learned of the news through a member of the executive bureau a few days prior.
What's more, this member announced the strike from Morocco, even before the UGTT's administrative commission had met. This level of arrogance and democratic practice is alarming, especially from a leadership team that is supposed to be finding solutions to the unprecedented crisis that the UGTT is facing, which was triggered by the same team's use of unhealthy maneuvers to maintain their grip on power.
Instead of focusing on preparing for the upcoming congress in March, the UGTT leaders are trying to divert attention and create a smokescreen that leads nowhere. This behavior is detrimental and aims to obscure the real issues and historical challenges that unionists must address, particularly those currently in charge of the UGTT.
However, these leaders are well aware that they will be ousted in March, during the highly anticipated congress, which the vast majority of unionists are eagerly waiting for. These unionists want to break free from the current team and focus on the real expectations of workers.
In this context, the announcement of the general strike on January 21st can be understood as an attempt to postpone the congress under the pretext of the strike's repercussions. Regardless of the reason, the timing of this strike announcement is part of an escalation aimed at obscuring the real problems of Tunisian workers and focusing on vain political quarrels that serve neither the working class nor the national economy.
How else can we understand that the primary demand of the current UGTT leadership is freedom, when they are confiscating the same right from the union opposition? Are these leaders setting an example in terms of freedom and democratic practices within the Hached institution?
The answer can be found by asking the unionists who no longer hide their discontent with the drift that the union has been experiencing for some time. This drift must not continue at the expense of the general interest of Tunisian workers. Moreover, they wonder why these leaders never question themselves.
Were they democratically elected? Do they still enjoy the trust of the vast majority of Tunisian unionists? These questions remain unanswered. Meanwhile, we excel in escalation, chatter, and pseudo-querelles. In short, everything except the real questions that disturb, namely defending the interests of Tunisian workers.
December 5th of each year is a day of tribute to the founder of the UGTT, Farhat Hached, who was assassinated in 1952. Unfortunately, this year's commemoration was marred by the announcement of a general strike, whose true reasons are only known to the decision-makers.
