Tunisian Parliament Discusses 2027 Social Affairs Budget

The Tunisian Parliament and the National Council of Regions and Districts commenced discussions on the 2027 social affairs budget, valued at 4227 million dinars. This marks a 3.6% increase compared to the current year. The discussions took place during a joint plenary session held at the Parliament in Bardo.

According to the joint report by the Health, Women's Affairs, Family, Social Affairs, and Disability Committee of the House of Representatives and the Services and Social Development Committee of the National Council of Regions and Districts, the budget for 2027 includes 341.520 million dinars for leasing expenses and 28.9 million dinars for operating expenses.

The report also indicates that intervention and investment expenses for next year are estimated at approximately 3.8 billion dinars and 31.2 million dinars, respectively. The allocated credits are distributed across five programs, including 36.1 million dinars for the Employment and Professional Relations Program and 1.84 billion dinars for the Social Security Program.

A significant portion of the budget, 2.12 billion dinars, is allocated to the Social Promotion and Assistance to Poor Families Program. The Ministry's orientations for the upcoming period encompass programs focused on employment, social promotion, social security, migration, and Tunisians abroad, in addition to leadership and support programs.

In the domain of employment and professional relations, the Ministry aims to continue ensuring decent working conditions by reducing individual and collective labor disputes, increasing the number of work inspections, and establishing social dialogue structures. The Ministry is also working on a draft law to amend the labor code, enabling labor inspectors to play a mediation role in individual and collective disputes.

Furthermore, the Ministry has prepared a draft law to regulate remote work in the private sector, aiming to add flexibility to labor legislation and keep pace with technological development and rapid changes in the job market. The report also addresses the challenges posed by platform-based work and electronic applications on labor law.

The Ministry is working on a comprehensive reform of the social security system, which suffers from structural imbalances that have worsened over time. A draft framework law is being prepared, outlining the basic principles for this reform.

Key points

• The 2027 social affairs budget is estimated at 4227 million dinars, with a 3.6% increase from this year.
• The budget includes 2.12 billion dinars for the Social Promotion and Assistance to Poor Families Program.
• The Ministry aims to reduce individual and collective labor disputes and improve working conditions through various programs and draft laws.