Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) Noureddine Taboubi urged the government to reactivate the social dialogue by holding an evaluation meeting amid the inflation figures and shortages of several basic products and medicines in the country. «No progress will be made without a responsible, serious and transparent social dialogue,» Taboubi said in a speech, Monday, at the UGTT headquarters on the Commemoration of the 71st Anniversary of the Assassination of Trade Union Leader Farhat Hached (December 5, 1952) The trade union center will continue its efforts to defend social issues including the improvement of citizens' purchasing power, he reiterated. Taboubi called on the government to implement the agreements of February 6, 2021 and September 15, 2022 as well as cancel circular number 21 which undermines the right to collective negotiations, in addition to improving citizens' purchasing power, employees' working conditions and protecting the rights of retired people. Taboubi affirm ed that the UGTT will defend the interests of public establishments to ensure their sustainability and financial capacity so that they fulfill their role at best. He indicated that the positions of the President of the Republic are consistent with the positions of the central trade union, particularly with regard to the reform of public establishments and the policy of compensation and the fight against speculation. Addressing hundreds of trade unionists and workers, Taboubi spoke of the pressures exerted on the UGTT with the aim of undermining the union action, emphasizing that the trials held recently against a number of unionists «were politically motivated. They undermine the Constitution and international agreements.» He also affirmed that trade unionists are «not above the law.» Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse