Tunis — President Kais Saied met on Tuesday at the Carthage Palace with Minister of Social Affairs Issam Lahmar, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Riadh Chaoued and Secretary of State to the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training in charge of communitarian enterprises Hasna Jiballah.
The meeting discussed the draft law on the abolition of subcontracting and fixed-term contracts, the simplification of procedures for setting up communitarian companies, particularly for young people, and Tunisia's celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the General Confederation of Tunisian Workers.
With regard to the draft law on the abolition of subcontracting and fixed-term contracts, the Head of State stressed that the draft texts should be drawn up according to a new approach and free from the vestiges of the past, in order to safeguard the right to work with a fair and remunerative wage, as well as the rights of those whose employment contracts have been terminated and replaced by others.
"The rights of new workers and those who have been replaced will not be lost, and the social stability that all countries and societies seek can only be achieved on the basis of justice and fairness," said a statement from the Presidency of the Republic.
The Head of State also stressed the need to simplify the procedures for setting up communitarian companies, especially for young people, and to support them, because "the descendants of those who failed the economic cooperatives have joined the line to thwart this new form of company, which will benefit not only the shareholders but the whole country."
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The President of the Republic recalled that today Tunisia is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the creation of the General Confederation of Tunisian Workers, which was founded on December 3, 1924 after a series of meetings and gatherings led by Mohamed Ali El Hammi, the pioneer of trade unionism in Arab and African countries.
The President gave a detailed account of the career of the trade union leader Mohamed Ali El Hammi, who was patriotic and intelligent despite all the difficulties he faced throughout his life.
He rose from poverty and hardship as a porter in a fruit market to specialise in political economy after obtaining an advanced degree in the field.
"It is no coincidence that the leader Farhat Hachad called El Hammi the father of the trade union movement in Tunisia and the one who planted the first seed of this movement, which grew and matured because it was planted by a wise hand, and that the late Mohamed Ali's courageous action and total sacrifice are associated with our sincere and deep gratitude," the statement said.
Speaking of Mohamed Ali El Hammi's struggle, the President of the Republic referred to the establishment of the first economic cooperative, created specifically in the commercial sector to resist price increases, reduce the cost of living for workers and increase their purchasing power, but the cartels and colonial agents of the time moved to thwart this noble project.
