Tunisia

Organization responsible for the statistics

The statistics are collected by the Inspection régionale du Travail and the Services centraux of the Ministère des Affaires sociales (Direction générale de l'Inspection du Travail). They are compiled and published by the Direction générale de l'Inspection du Travail of the Ministère des Affaires sociales.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover:

Data are collected separately for constitutional or official strikes, unofficial strikes and lockouts.

Rotating or revolving strikes, working to rule and go-slows are not covered in the legislation and are therefore not included in the statistics. Political or protest strikes and overtime bans are not covered.

Minimum threshold Duration of at least one hour.

Economic activities

The civil service is not covered.

Workers

Workers directly involved only. Only workers having participated in the strike or lockout whatever its legal status, are included.

In addition to regular paid employees, the statistics cover temporary, casual and seasonal workers. Unpaid family workers, part-time workers, workers laid off and workers absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other reason are not included.

No particular occupational groups are excluded.

>Geographic areas

Whole country.

Types of data collected

Concepts and definitions

Strike

A collective refusal to work, with the aim of defending the socio-economic interests of workers. One condition is laid down by the Code du Travail: trade unions are required to give notice of every decision to strike, and to ensure that this decision is approved by the central trade union organization.

Work stoppage (arrêt du travail)

This term is used by employers, in the same sense as a strike, to denote a work stoppages lasting no longer than four hours. A work stoppage usually occurs with advance notice and does not fulfil the legal conditions governing the right to strike (10 days' notice and approval of the central trade union organization).

Lockout

The closure of an establishment by the employer for reasons other than economic or administrative, or unavoidable circumstances. The same conditions relate to lockouts as govern the right to strike (10 days notice and approval of the central employers' organization).

These terms are not defined in the Code du Travail. The above are working definitions used for administrative purposes.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the economic unit (establishment or workplace). The continuation of a strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as a new strike or lockout.

A separate strike or lockout is recorded for each establishment or workplace involved.

Economic units involved

The economic unit is the establishment or the workplace, considered as the place in which the work contract is carried out.

Workers involved

The number of workers involved is the total employment in the economic units involved.

Duration

The duration is measured in workdays from the date on which the strike or lockout began up to the date on which it terminated in the economic unit involved.

Time not worked

Total time not worked is measured in workdays as the product of the number of workers involved and the duration. Overtime is not taken into consideration.

Classifications

Cause of dispute

Branch of economic activity

The statistics are classified by branch of economic activity using the International Standard Industrial Classification (1968), adapted to take into account the importance of certain sectors of the economy or branches of economic activity. In the case of general strikes, data are collected for each economic unit involved and classified by branch of economic activity.

Size of economic units involved

(number of employees)

Reference period and periodicity

The statistics are compiled for periods of a month and a year, and are published for periods of a year. They refer to strikes and lockouts beginning during the particular reference period only.

Analytical measures

None.

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentation

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Ministère des Affaires sociales: Rapport annuel des Activités de l'inspection du Travail (annual).

Data published by the ILO

The number of strikes and lockouts, the number of workers involved and the number of days not worked, by economic activity.

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

The Code du Travail (Article 376 bis (nouveau)) stipulates that all difficulties arising between employers and employees which could give rise to a collective labour dispute and for which a solution can not be found within the enterprise must, before any strike or lockout takes place, be referred to the Bureau Régional de Conciliation (of the Inspection Régional du Travail) for that region by the party making the demands. The party concerned must send a notice giving the subject of dispute and the date of the strike or lockout. The strike or lockout has to be approved by the central trade union body or the central employers' organization.

The information is collected from enterprises by the regional offices of the Labour Inspectorate, and then sent on the same day to the Direction générale de l'Inspection du Travail (Administration centrale) which enters the data on computer so that they can be used for analysis and the preparation of periodic reports.