As part of a partnership project between the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) and the FNV Foundation, the General Federation of Construction and Wood Workers (FGBB) organised three sectoral training workshops on new legislation concerning employment contracts and the prohibition of subcontracting. These workshops aimed to strengthen the legal awareness of union members, while analysing legal loopholes and the practical challenges of implementation.

The series began on 25 June 2025 at the union’s regional office in Gabès, followed by a second session on 27 June in Nabeul, and concluded with a third workshop on 28 June in Kairouan. The sessions brought together over 85 participants, including 15 women, representing grassroots unions and local structures from across the construction and wood sectors.

The workshops were facilitated by Kamal Omran, a legal expert from the Department of Legal Affairs, who delivered an in-depth presentation on the new law, with a particular focus on subcontracting practices and precarious forms of employment. He also led interactive discussions with participants on how to protect workers’ rights and ensure effective legal enforcement. Beyond the legal dimensions, strong emphasis was placed on the importance of organising workers at the workplace level, especially within large enterprises and multinational corporations (MNCs). Group discussions highlighted the urgent need to build strong and active workplace union committees, particularly in companies where precarious work and subcontracting are on the rise. Participants exchanged strategies to strengthen union presence and to collectively defend workers’ rights in increasingly challenging environments.

This initiative forms part of a broader training programme that seeks to equip trade union structures with legal, organisational, and strategic tools to more effectively defend workers’ rights, expand union presence across the sector, and tackle the growing challenges of casualisation and outsourcing, particularly in the context of privatisation and global supply chains.

“Since its inception, the UGTT has always upheld a core principle: the unwavering fight against all forms of worker exploitation and the commodification of labour,” said Taieb Bahri, President of the FGBB. “This includes combating exclusion and discrimination in hiring, as well as denying workers job security, tenure, and career development.”