TUNIS, Tunisia — Following the Aug. 10 meeting, Tunisian police unions entered into conflict with Tunisian President Kais Saied, after rejecting his call to establish a unified union structure under the name "Tunisian Union of General Internal Security Forces."
This was the response to Saied's request upon meeting Aug. 10 with Minister of Interior Tawfiq Sharaf El-Din. Saied urged the police to commit to protecting people and property and ensuring freedom of expression. In a statement issued by the presidency on the same day, Saied acknowledged that although the right for security personnel to unionize is a constitutional right, the constitution itself stipulates that this right does not include organizing a strike and that failure to provide security during protests is a disguised strike and a breach of professional obligations.