Irish trade union representative expelled from Tunisia

An Irish woman who leads European’s major trade union confederation was ordered by the Tunisian government to leave the country after taking part in a protest over the government’s crackdown on trade unions and workers’ rights.

Esther Lynch, the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) arrived in Brussels on Sunday afternoon after being ordered by the Tunisian government to leave the country after taking part in the protest.

According to the ETUC, Ms Lynch had travelled to Tunisia as part of a delegation of international union leaders to show solidarity with the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), whose members are being subjected to a campaign of harassment by the country’s government.

On Friday, Ms Lynch, who formerly worked for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), met the general secretary of the UGTT, Noureddine Taboubi, before taking part in a protest organised by the union in Sfax on Saturday.

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After the protest, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied posted an article on his official website accusing the ETUC general secretary of breaking the law by threatening the security of the country.

According to the ETUC, Ms Lynch was told she had 24 hours to leave the country and was ordered to report to the authorities about her activities, and about anyone whom she spoke to, in the intervening period.

The ETUC says the Tunisian government’s treatment of Ms Lynch is in line with a campaign of intimidation and harassment being waged against trade unions by President Saied, which has included the sacking of trade union officials.

Ms Lynch, in a statement from ETUC, said: “These authoritarian tactics being used against trade unionists and civil society activists, which I experienced at first-hand this weekend, have no place in a democratic country. I call again on President Saied to respect democratic rights and end his attacks on trade unionists. Far from silencing me, my treatment this weekend has strengthened my resolve to stand with trade unions in Tunisia and I will raise their treatment at the highest levels of the EU.”

“Internationalism and solidarity are at the core of the labour movement, so it’s entirely normal that a trade union leader from Europe should go and stand with workers in Tunisia,” she said. ”The message of solidarity, social justice and dialogue I gave at the demonstration in Sfax is no different to the one I have given to workers in France and the UK this month.

“We have called on both the French and UK governments to resolve disputes through negotiations with trade unions rather than by attacks on them – and that is exactly what my message is to the Tunisian government.