Who: the Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) representing workers, and Union Tunisienne de l`industrie, du commerce et de l`artisana (UTICA)
In 2010 a short, bloody revolution in Tunisia led to what was eventually called the Arab Spring, but it also caused much unrest. After the revolution, there was an extremely challenging environment of political and social instability.
In January 2013, the Government, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) and the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts (UTICA) signed a social contract, paving the way for improvements in labour legislation, employment policies, vocational training and education, social protection, balanced regional development and the institutionalization of social dialogue. The agreement marked a commitment by all social partners to achieve the goals of the revolution through social dialogue.
In June 2015, the Cabinet approved the draft law for the National Council of Social Dialogue, designed to institutionalize tripartite social dialogue in accordance with provisions in the social contract. The new law (N° 54/ 2017 of 24 July 2017) creating the council was finally adopted by the Assembly of Representatives of the People (ARP). In 2015, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, composed of the UGTT, the UTICA, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers for helping to prevent a grave political and social crisis which could have escalated into a civil war in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution.
Sources:
Global Deal. (2017). Thematic Brief, Achieving Decent Work and Inclusive Growth: the Business Case for Social Dialogue (pp. 1-16). Global Deal.