A large number of Tunisians demonstrated on Monday in Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia´s west-central region against the government and protest against marginalization after 12 people, including seven agricultural workers, died in a horrific traffic accident.
The accident occurred Saturday near the Sabala district of Sidi Bouzid province, not the first of its kind for "rural transport" vehicles, often carrying agricultural workers in the absence of safety standards.
The incident has drawn heavy criticism from the government on social networks. The authorities have been accused of being indentured to the situation of workers who have to work long hours a day for 10 dinars (3 euros).
The demonstrators gathered at the invitation of the local union (central trade union) in the center of Sidi Bouzid, chanting slogans against the Prime Minister Youssef the witness, who visited the site of the incident on Sunday, according to the correspondent of France Press.
"The people have been tired of the neo-Trabelsi," he said, referring to the family of Laila Trabelsi, wife of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, accused of looting the country´s wealth until 2011.
Most of the protesters wore flower-colored headgear such as those worn by agricultural workers, in honor of them.
The demonstrations were held without incident under strict security control.
Women constitute the majority of the agricultural labor force in Tunisia, especially for accepting less than men.
They are often transported in light trucks stacked at the back and work without contracts or health coverage.
Sidi Bouzid is the cradle of demonstrations that broke out in Tunisia at the end of 2010 against poverty, unemployment and corruption, and led to a revolution that toppled Ben Ali in early 2011.
But after more than eight years of the revolution, the economy is still struggling. Unemployment is above 15 percent, fueling social unrest and leading to repeated protests in the country.
