President Saied is further burdened by the Tunisian transport strike.

Tunis's bus and metro service comes to a complete stop as workers walk out in protest of their salary and bonuses.

Employees of the state transportation firm went on strike over the payment of wages and bonuses, which caused the metro and bus system in the capital of Tunisia to come to a complete stop.

When public firms are on the edge of bankruptcy, as is the case with the government of President Kais Saied, the strike on Monday brings to light their financial woes.

According to Hayat Chamtouri, a representative for the company, "the union is protesting regarding the delay in the payment of wages and bonuses."

She continued, "The company's financial situation is incredibly terrible."

The influential UGTT union, which has vowed to organize a number of protests, is showing strength by going on strike in support of transportation.

A two-day walkout by employees of land, air, and sea transportation has been authorized by the union, which has one million members, to protest what it has dubbed "the government's marginalization of public firms" on January 25 and 26.

Thousands of people in the capital who were having trouble finding transportation became enraged by the strike.

"We no longer have access to milk, oil, sugar, or coffee today. Additionally, we can no longer get buses to transport us to work. Nejia, a woman waiting at a bus stop, claimed that Tunisia had turned into an intolerable nightmare.

People blocked roadways in the impoverished Intilaka neighborhood to protest the strike. The nation of North Africa is struggling with eye-watering levels of public debt, shortages of products like sugar and gasoline, and rising inflation.

In exchange for contentious measures like spending cuts, the restructuring of state firms, and reductions in energy and food subsidies, Tunisia is asking the International Monetary Fund for a $1.9 billion loan.

The economy minister, Samir Saeed, said last month that he expects Tunisia to face a difficult year with an inflation rate that will exceed 10 percent.

The walkout will put more pressure on President Saied's administration, which is dealing with mounting resistance 17 months after assuming administrative authority in what his detractors have dubbed a coup.

Elections were held in Tunisia in December to choose a new parliament to replace the one that Saied had suspended in July 2021.

The opposition decided to abstain from the vote in response to Saied's attempts to undermine the parliament and consolidate his own power.

With an official turnout of just 11%, the majority of Tunisians opted not to cast a ballot.