Former Employment Minister Hafedh Laâmouri acknowledged significant challenges in implementing Tunisia’s new labor contract organization and subcontracting prohibition law, while asserting that solutions can be found.
During an interview with Express FM on Thursday, Laâmouri revealed that most insurance companies and alternating training companies currently operate without formal employment contracts.
He also mentioned the difficulty of applying this law to the security and cleaning sectors, since it would mean that workers would become employees of the companies in which they work. This would make it more difficult to replace them in the event of their absence.
The former minister emphasized that many companies are confused about how to understand and apply the law. In his view, this has led to a wave of redundancies. He added that, while a law cannot cover all specificities, solutions can be considered.
He specified that “the law on the organization of employment contracts and the prohibition of subcontracting attempts to strike a balance between protecting employees and protecting companies, but it represents a significant financial cost for companies that enjoy considerable advantages.”
This new law, known as the Subcontracting Prohibition Act, came into force in May 2025. It aims to strengthen the stability of labor relations and guarantee the rights of employees.
According to many experts, this law eliminates forms of subcontracting that are detrimental to workers and seeks to establish a direct relationship between the employee and the company benefiting from their services.
Furthermore, Hafedh Laâmouri believes that this law provides an opportunity to revise collective agreements in light of its provisions without contradicting them while taking into account the specifics of various sectors.
Finally, he dismissed rumors that implementing regulations were already in place, stating that a circular would be published to guide labor inspectors in applying the law uniformly.
