TUNESS Chart of the Week (TCW), Friday Dec 7, 2012 How powerful is the UGTT relative to its peers?
The Labor Union Power Index measuring the power of unions as the average of indicators such as (the right of employees to unionize and negotiate collective bargaining; the possibility for the Union to close shops; and their ability to appoint members to the Boards of Directors,..) shows that while the Tunisian Labor Union (UGTT) seems to have a stronger position relative its peers in similar countries of the region
and also in more developed economies, its index of power falls within the median of this range, suggesting no exceptional power this entity currently enjoys compared to other similar national organizations worldwide (as opposed to what its critics often put forward). The same conclusion can also be reached with respect to the Civil Right index (measuring the protection of vulnerable groups of employees against several forms of labor discriminations). The latter despite falling within the median of the range, seems to be lagging behind most of the countries captured by this sample.
(Chart prepared by TUNESS Research Team)
Data source: Botero, J.C., Djankov, S., La Porta, R., López-de-Silanes, F. and Shleifer, A. 2004. “The Regula-tion of Labor.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 119(4): 1339-1382.