The pharmaceutical union sticks to the suspension of the motivating party's formula with the sickness insurance fund
Private pharmacy owners confirm that the suspension of treatment with the incentive form will be effective from 1 November in the absence of any suspension from sickness insurance.
The Tunisian Syndicate of Private Pharmacy Owners has confirmed its adherence to the decision to suspend work as a motivating party for the benefit of the National Sickness Insurance Fund's visionaries, which is scheduled to come into force in Tunisia from 1 November 2026. The union stressed that this position was taken after the Fund failed to honour its commitments to protect the sector's balance sheets. The action follows an official notification from the National Trade Union Office to the Fund's management and interested parties on 19 October 2026, including the impossibility of continuing to provide the service due to a lack of settlement of accumulated financial receivables. The National Enlarged Board of Trade returned to confirm this decision at its meeting held on 27 October 2026 after no practical solutions were reached.
The apothecaries' union said adherence to the decision was aimed at protecting the financial balances of pharmacies and ensuring their ability to provide medicines to citizens, given the great difficulties they face in supplying as well as the tax burdens imposed on them. The Organized Sectoral Agreement for the Motive and Subsequent Amending Party obliges the Fund to pay the debts of healthcare providers in accordance with predetermined contractual deadlines.
So far, no official response or comment has been issued from the National Sickness Insurance Fund Administration or the Ministry of Social Affairs on the mechanism to contain the crisis and resolve the dispute before the date of entry into force of the decision.
The roots of this tension lie in the accumulation of the Fund's debts and late repayments of more than 185 days in previous periods, which have repeatedly prompted pharmacy owners to terminate contractual transactions at previous stations.
The next step involves mailing the union's directions to the Fund to coordinate mechanisms and procedures for dealing with social insured profiles and facilitating their access to medication, pending the announcement of order data as soon as they are completed.