Solving jobs crisis needs stability

Tunisian Minister of Employment, Abdul Wahab Moaatr Tunis – Nabil Zaghdoud The Tunisian Minister of Employment, Abdul Wahab Moaatr has said Tunisia's unemployment crisis cannot be solved under political pressure. “The problem of employing hundreds of thousands of unemployed can not be solved in the country under political pressure," he said at an open meeting Wednesday with representatives for associations of the unemployed. "Employment should be the primary goal of development, not the natural outcome of development," he added. "The issue of job creation is a national issue that imposes itself on any government...we need a combination of efforts to develop this new view, and to take this file away from political pressure," he continued. "We're working to make the employment issue  a top priority for the government, and the main objective of all policies and actions taken by the government," he nored. Abdul Wahab is criticised and accused by the opposition and associations for the unemployed for his failure to find solutions to the job crisis especially acute among university graduates. He called on civil society groups and representatives of NGOs to support his demand, calling for the need to make the Ministry of Employment powerful and to assist him in pressuring various government ministers in order to direct the largest percentage of available resources in the State towards reducing unemployment. The national unemployment figure exceeds 18 percent, while 35 percent of university graduates are without jobs. It was announced during this meeting that  the creation of a national front for all 32 unemployed associations would be activated soon. Minister Abdul-Wahab Moatr welcomed the idea of the front, saying: "It will be a focal point for communication between the ministry and the rest of society so as to ensure unification of demands." He said that the ministry was considering a union for the unemployed, asserting that the approach would facilitate the process of negotiating with the unemployed, and accelerate the implementation of the initial programme.