TUNIS / Adel Al-Thabeti / Anadolu

The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) called on Saturday for reform of the electricity and water sectors, following ongoing outages coinciding with a severe heatwave hitting the country.

The UGTT, Tunisia's largest trade union organization, said in a statement that it demands "candidly informing public opinion of the true situation facing the water and electricity sectors, and presenting a clear reform program with precise goals and specific deadlines for implementation."

It added that "restoring trust is not achieved through reassuring speeches or justifying crises, but through transparency, clarification of challenges, and commitment to a feasible and monitorable roadmap."

The union reiterated "its commitment to defending the social state and the basic rights of citizens, foremost of which are water, electricity, health, education, and transport," stressing they are "constitutional rights, not temporary privileges."

It emphasized that preserving these rights requires "deep reform of public facilities and accountability for anyone proven negligent in weakening them."

It said that "water and electricity are no longer mere public services, but have become an essential condition for social stability, economic activity, and national security."

The union noted that "the decline in the state's ability to ensure regular supply of these services directly impacts citizens' lives, affects investment, production, and essential services, and weakens Tunisians' trust in their institutions."

The union's statement comes as periodic power and water outages continue in several regions of the country, coinciding with a severe heatwave.

The National Institute of Meteorology recently said that temperatures in Tunisia have exceeded their normal averages by about 13 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian Weather and Climate Observatory said on Friday that temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius in most regions of the country, and surpassed 49 degrees in five cities: Kairouan, Kendar, Mejez El Bab, Jemmel, and Nasrallah.

In this context, the CEO of the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas, Fayçal Tarifa, said on Wednesday that the periodic power outages aim to reduce pressure on the grid and protect it from a total blackout.

Tarifa explained, in statements to the national radio, that power outages last between 30 and 45 minutes in areas experiencing high pressure on the grid, due to increased use of air conditioners during the heatwave.

The Tunisian Water Observatory also recently announced that it received 423 reports related to water supply services during June 2026, including 374 about unannounced interruptions and disturbances in drinking water distribution, and 6 about pollution or poor water quality.

During the same period, the water network experienced 20 leak cases, and citizens organized 23 protest actions in this regard.