Retirees held a sit-in, on Wednesday, outside the headquarters of the Municipal Theater of Tunis calling for an increase in their minimum salary.
Speaking to TAP, Deputy Secretary General, in charge of the Department of Social Protection and the Informal Sector at the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), Othmane Jellouli, underlined that retirees affiliated with the National Social Security Fund (French: CNSS) are asking for a regular increase in their minimum wage which will be systematically followed by an increase in their pensions, provided that this wage is not lower than the guaranteed minimum wage.
Jellouli said that nearly 70% of retirement pensions are lower than the guaranteed minimum wage, and that 50% of these pensions are lower than the allowance granted by the State to poor families, which he said is «humiliating and a threat to the dignity of retirees.»
«The government is called upon to act as quickly as possible to get retirees out of this miserable situation and recognize their right to a
decent life,» he added.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse