Tunis — The head of Tunisia’s General Labour Union—the UGTT, one of North Africa’s most consequential civil society organizations—used International Workers’ Day on Friday, May 1, 2026 to issue a direct call for members to abandon internal divisions and reunite around the union’s founding mission: protecting workers in a climate of rising economic pressure and creeping political authoritarianism.
The address by UGTT Secretary-General Slaheddine Selmi, delivered before a large rally in the capital, marked a rare public acknowledgment that the union is not simply fighting external adversaries—but is also haemorrhaging cohesion from within.
An Institution Under Pressure
The UGTT has been a defining institution in Tunisian public life for decades. It drove key moments in the independence era, shaped labour relations under Bourguiba, and became the dominant organized civil society actor during the 2011 revolution. Its ability to mobilize street-level pressure has historically made it a kingmaker in Tunisian politics—or at minimum, an actor no government can afford to ignore.
But the union has been strained by a series of internal challenges that have tested its unity. Leadership elections at its March congress revealed deep ideological and organizational fault lines. The new executive board, comprising 15 members with a majority aligned to a reformist current, was elected after a contentious process that left the opposition slate contesting certain results.
The Political Context
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has consolidated power significantly since his 2021 power grab, dissolving parliament and rewriting the constitution. While officially non-partisan, his administration has systematically worked to marginalize organized civil society. The UGTT, with its institutional reach and strike capacity, represents one of the few remaining counterweights to executive dominance.
A fragmented UGTT, absorbed by internal disputes, would be far less capable of mounting the kind of coordinated resistance that has historically constrained authoritarian excess in Tunisia. Observers argue that this is precisely the dynamic President Saied’s approach has sought to encourage—fracturing the union from within rather than confronting it directly.
“Selmi’s call for unity was not just moral. It was a warning: if we keep fighting each other, someone else will win,” said one Tunis political analyst who tracks labour movements closely.
What Comes Next
The May 1 rally served as both a show of force and a moment of honest self-critique for the UGTT. Selmi’s challenge is to convert the unity message into concrete organizational action. The union faces imminent decisions on wage demands, public sector reform, and potential referendums on legislation affecting collective bargaining rights.
Whether the UGTT can turn the page on internal divisions before the next major political confrontation will determine whether it remains a relevant force in Tunisia’s evolving story—or drifts into irrelevance as a once-formidable institution hollowed out by its own disputes.