Labour Day: Union of Workers of Tunisia holds gathering in its headquarters

Tunis: The Union of Workers of Tunisia (French: UTT), Wednesday, held a gathering in its Tunis-based headquarters on the occasion of Labor Day. During the gathering, an emphasis was placed on the absence of substitute markets for street vendors who have been out of job for almost a year. A large number of street vendors, affiliated with the UTT who had anarchic stalls in the streets and avenues of the capital, held a meeting chaired by members of the union's executive office and General Secretary of their sectoral union, Moez Aloui. They complained about their poor social conditions, threatening to go back to anarchic commerce in case no special areas are reserved to them or are denied social loans. Aloui urged the government and the Presidency of the Republic to speed up the completion of alternative markets as well as offer union members, particularly vulnerable groups 10,000-dinar social loans without interest rates. UTT General Secretary, Ismail Sahbani, called on the government to adopt a set of poli cies which would preserve citizens' purchasing power as well as increase salaries and retirement pensions. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse