Graduates demand jobs amid virus-led austerity drive

Hundreds of unemployed graduates were among protesters who marched on the Tunisian parliament last week to demand the introduction of legislation to guarantee them jobs.

Haseeb Abidi, a member of the executive office in charge of media at the Union for Unemployed Graduates or UDC, told University World News his organisation had called for the protest to demand the “speedy adoption” of a proposed law that would guarantee jobs for anyone with a university degree who has been unemployed for more than 10 years.

The proposed legislation was presented to the Assembly of the Representatives of the People in March “but it hasn’t made any progress since”, Abidi said.

Universities are ‘part of the problem’

He said in addition to the absence of a clear governmental vision, universities were “part of the problem of unemployment” because they continued to produce graduates with specialisations that were not needed by the labour market.

Abidi said the protesters were also calling for the opening of public service hiring to university graduates. This is in reference to a 14 May circular from Tunisia’s Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh, which outlined a series of proposed measures relating to the State Budget 2021 which includes the freezing of recruitment in the public service, except for certain priority and urgent specialties.

Last week’s protests are to be followed on 23 June with a demonstration by unemployed graduates of the Higher Institutes of Sport and Physical Education in front of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, along with more protests on 24 June by unemployed graduates of the National Institute of Labor and Social Studies in front of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The actions by the UDC have drawn support from the national association of unemployed graduates of Morocco. General coordinator for the association, Muhammad Ghalout, told University World News: “We issued a solidarity statement in which we declared our unconditional support to UDC struggles in defence of the right to work and condemn the repression and the barbaric act that they have been subjected to by the police along with calling for the direct integration of university graduates in the public service jobs based on the degree obtained.

“We call upon Tunisian officials to open a serious and responsible dialogue with members of UDC instead of using the silence policy,” Ghalout said.

UDC became the master framer of the Tunisian uprising, also known as the ‘Jasmine Revolution’, for which unemployment was a key driver and which resulted in the overthrow of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and unleashed the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 across North Africa, including in Egypt and Libya.

Virus-led austerity drive

As graduates struggle outside the higher education sector, there is evidence of strain on the inside.

Measures to confront the economic implications of the coronavirus on public finances for the higher education sector have started with the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research postponing university staff promotions and cancelling allowances for additional hours.

The Union of Tunisian University Teachers and Researchers (IJABA, meaning ‘answer’ in Arabic) issued a recent statement in which it rejected the proposed austerity measures and called for greater financial support to link university research with industry.

“IJABA emphasises the importance of raising the budget of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and providing all encouragement and motivation to the framework of teaching and research and the appraisal of their experiences and knowledge.

“IJABA is demanding a clear strategy and financial support to link research with industrialisation in response to the needs of the country in all fields.”

According to a 17 June study on the impact of COVID-19 on the Tunisian economy, conducted jointly by the Tunisian Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme, the unemployment rate in Tunisia is set to increase to 21.6% by the end of this year from 15% currently, and the poverty rate is forecast to rise to 19.2% from 15.2%.

The economy is expected to shrink by up to 4.3% this year, the steepest drop since independence in 1956, according to local news reports.