Private taxi drivers resume work on the island after a week-long strike

Private taxis returned to securing the transport of citizens on the island of Gruba belonging to the state of Médenine, Monday 09 November 2026, after a week-long suspension of the sector's paralytic strike. The decision to resume work was made following consultations by the Tunisian Taxi Association's travel agency, Médenine, with the National Chamber and professional representatives, following a meeting of the three trial accredits and sector representatives on Sunday evening.

The island has seen career stoppages throughout the strike period in protest at the granting of 23 public taxi licenses within a trial of a total of 150 licenses distributed to various Médenine state licences. The Tunisian Individual Taxi Federation stressed that suspending the move does not mean withdrawing from the professional claims raised, emphasizing recourse to the judicial process to challenge and prove the legality of the handover decisions, while keeping the option of returning to protest in place if necessary.

The general secretary of the Tunisian Federation of Private Taxis, Jamal Ben Musa, explained that the ongoing dispute was triggered by a refusal to grant licenses for the collective taxi benefit, with demands to cancel the decision and provide additional licenses to private taxi professionals and settle old files that have been stuck for years. The Tunisian Federation of Industry, Trade and Traditional Industries' Taxi Chamber was not involved in the protest.

The stoppage days required the adoption of an exceptional plan to ensure a minimum of passenger transportation services within the island, which included taking advantage of taxis and granting them exceptional licenses to operate within the certificates. Médenine Airlines has strengthened its flights by adding 8 flights to secure connectivity and transportation between the three island's probes during the protest period.