Tunisia - "The government is currently working on the creation of an insurance against job loss fund," said Prime Minister Kamal Maddouri on Friday at a joint plenary session between the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) and the National Council of Regions and Districts (CNRD) held to examine the 2025 draft finance law and State Budget.

Presenting the government's budget statement, Maddouri said the goal of the State's general policy is to improve living standard by meeting Tunisians' needs and expectations through the promotion of the State's social role in order to achieve social cohesion.

"The creation of this fund seeks to guarantee support and professional reintegration for workers laid off for economic reasons," he added.

The national employment strategy had been updated, he further said in this vein, in addition to strengthening programmes to improve employability and support businesses.

Action will focus on adapting vocational training to the needs of the labour market and strengthening links between the university and the economic and social environment, with a view to increasing the employability of higher education graduates.

In addition, Maddouri expressed commitment to promote the status of auto-entrepreneur and combat the financial exclusion of low-income groups by facilitating their access to microcredits on advantageous terms.

There is also need to provide training and support for promoters in communitarian companies by means of easing their access to funding, given their role in creating job opportunities for young people in inland regions.

The Premier further indicated that the promotion of vulnerable groups also includes a 7% increase in the guaranteed minimum wage as from May 2024 and a 7.5% increase from January 2025, with an automatic review of private sector retitement pensions to help recipients benefit from this increase as well.

"Minimum retirement pensions have also been raised from TND 180 to TND 260, along with a rise in monthly allowances paid to poor and low-income households under the social security programme (Amen Social) from TND 220 to TND 240. Pensions for orphans and the elderly are now tax free," said Maddouri.

Legislation was developed to regularise the situation of contract workers in the civil service and public companies as well as susbstitute teachers, the Premier said.

He also shed light on the revision of the Labour Code to strengthen the legal protection of workers, including the introduction of a social protection system for female agricultural workers (Decree No. 4 of 2024, of October 22, 2024), as part of the drive to strengthen the role of female farmhands in economic and social development and to guarantee their economic empowerment.

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