Ten Algerian Unionists Imprisoned: UGTA Silent, ITUC Siding with the Government

🗓️ Published on: 07/12/2025

The arrest of ten high-profile unionists from the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) has sent shockwaves through the country, reigniting concerns over the shrinking space for trade union freedoms. The incident mirrors a troubling pattern, echoing the ordeal faced by the Railway Workers’ Federation for the second time in less than a year.

The case traces back to a spontaneous strike by railway workers on 26 November 2025, which briefly brought train services to a halt before triggering a sweeping crackdown. Dozens of workers were detained, and ten UGTA unionists from multiple provinces were ultimately jailed — among them the newly elected head of the Railway Workers’ Federation, Mohamed Braidji. They now face heavy criminal charges, including “undermining state security” and “inciting hatred”.

Mohamed Braidji, the federation’s newly elected secretary general, succeeds former leader Lounis Saidi not in office, but in prison.

now the second secretary general of the federation to be sent to prison in the span of a single year. His predecessor, Lounis Saidiwas jailed in July for calling a strike — a case that drew substantial national and international attention. Saidi was ultimately acquitted and released in October, but the pattern his prosecution set appears to be repeating itself.

Less than a month after Saidi’s release, his successor Mohamed Beraidji was taken into custody, joining nine fellow unionists behind bars on the same charges tied to trade union activity and the right to strike.

This troubling repetition shows that the railway sector remains a flashpoint, where union leaders are being targeted one after another. It sends a stark warning about the deteriorating climate for social dialogue in the country.

Ten Unionists Imprisoned,a Growing Human Tragedy, and the Denial of Conditional Release for One of Them

The human toll of the case has grown even more alarming. Among the ten detained unionists is a cancer patient who requires continuous, specialized medical care. Despite the seriousness of his condition, the judiciary rejected his request for conditional release, sending him to prison alongside his colleagues — a decision that defies both medical urgency and basic humanitarian concerns.

UGTA’s Silence and the ITUC’s Disquieting Pro-Government Posture

and unsettling silence. The national federation has issued no statement and shared no public update on the arrest of its own leaders. Even more striking, the Railway Workers’ Federation(FNC)itself has remained quiet — not a single post acknowledging that its secretary general is now behind bars.

Forces, Raouf Mellal, in an interview with North Africa TV in London. He questioned the position of the International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)and its recent alignment with the Algerian government.

 Mellal noted that the current UGTA secretary general, Omar Tagzout, now serves as acting president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) following its most recent congress — a position of considerable global influence. Tagzout, whose public messaging consistently echoes and promotes the government’s line, much like his predecessor, the imprisoned Abdelmadjid Sidi Saïd, has leveraged this role at a critical moment. This shift was followed by an official visit to Algeria on 25 February 2025 by ITUC secretary general Luc Triangle, who praised the Algerian authorities for their “efforts to advance trade union rights.” His statements marked a striking reversal: the ITUC, once a key supporter of independent unions and union freedoms in Algeria, suddenly appeared to endorse the government’s narrative — effectively aligning itself with increasing repression.

According to Mellal, this political backing from the world’s most influential labor organization has given the Algerian government a considerable sense of comfort in the face of mounting criticism from human rights groups over the deterioration of trade union freedoms. This, he argues, helps explain the authorities’ increasingly aggressive approach against union activists — whether independent or affiliated with the state-backed UGTA. From the highly publicized case of Ali Mammeri, which drew widespread international condemnation, to the imprisonment of Saidi, and now Beraidji and nine of his colleagues, Mellal describes a pattern of “government-driven hysteria” targeting unionists across the country.

COSYFOP Steps In to Break the Silence

In this context, Raouf Mellal, president of the Trade Union Confederation of Productive Forces (COSYFOP), stressed that his organization will assume its trade union and humanitarian responsibilities in the case of the ten detained unionists — despite the fact that none of them belong to COSYFOP.

Mellal explained that the defense strategy will not rely on seeking direct intervention from international bodies such as the International Labour Office. Instead, COSYFOP intends to focus on powerful information outreach and media exposure. The aim is to inform both national and international public opinion and to break the wall of silence imposed by the UGTA and the ITUC, while generating effective pressure that could accelerate the release of the detained unionists.