With the legal deadline fast approaching, the hours separating the scheduled date of the national general strike on 21 January 2026 from the final deadline for signing its strike notice—set ten days before implementation, i.e. 10 January—are shaping up to be among the most tense and opaque periods within the trade union arena and at the national level more broadly.
A resignation that shakes the trade union landscape
On 23 December 2025, the Secretary-General of the Union générale tunisienne du travail (UGTT), Noureddine Taboubi, caused a major stir by formally submitting his resignation.
This move, widely described as explosive, disrupted the trade union scene, exposing the fragility of internal balances within the organisation and the limits of the leadership’s ability to contain the crisis.
Open scenarios and persistent uncertainty
In a subsequent development, the UGTT issued, on Wednesday 31 December 2025, an official summons to its Secretary-General to hear him regarding the resignation he had submitted. This step falls within the procedures laid down in the organisation’s internal regulations, which set a maximum period of 15 days to address such matters.
As of the time of writing, no official statement has been released indicating whether Noureddine Taboubi has withdrawn his resignation or remains committed to it. This lack of clarity continues to fuel uncertainty and heighten anticipation within trade union and political circles.
The general strike between procedural constraints and internal divisions
This ambiguity weighs heavily on the fate of the general strike, whose implementation now appears uncertain—not only for political reasons, but primarily due to procedural and organisational constraints. These are compounded by internal divisions and the absence of clear signs that the mobilisation required to ensure the success of a general strike has effectively begun, as is traditionally the case within the organisation.
According to the UGTT’s internal regulations, the strike notice must be signed by the Secretary-General no later than ten days before the scheduled date. With regard to the general strike announced for 21 January 2026, the final legal deadline for issuing the notice is therefore 10 January 2026.
Limited room for manoeuvre
By contrast, the Secretary-General tasked with managing the organisation’s day-to-day affairs does not have the authority to decide on the postponement or cancellation of a general strike. Such a decision falls exclusively within the remit of the national administrative commission, the body that initially approved the date of the strike.
Caught between mounting legal deadlines and a complex internal situation, the coming hours are set to be decisive in determining the outcome of one of the most sensitive trade union moments of the current period.
What's happening in Tunisia?
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for updates.
