Tunisia - (AFP) - Employees of the government transport sector in the capital, Tunis, abruptly suspended a strike Thursday, which they carried out on Thursday, to protest the delay in the payment of salaries to the company's employees, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Transportation resumed normally Thursday, after the capital witnessed turmoil throughout Wednesday, as many citizens were unable to join their work since the morning, according to an AFP correspondent.

And the Ministry of Transport announced, in a statement on Wednesday night-Thursday, "the resumption of travel on the bus and metro network, and thus the suspension of the sudden strike carried out by the company's employees, following a negotiating session that brought together company officials and the trade union party."

The Ministry confirmed that it will enable employees to pay their dues within the specified deadlines.

And on Wednesday, Wajih al-Zaidi, general clerk of the University of Transportation (union), said in press statements that "more than 8,300 employees and to date have not received their salaries... This has caused tension within the institution and among the employees."

The Tunis Transport Company operates 250 buses and 15 train cars linking the capital with the Greater Tunis region, which includes four governorates with a population of more than two million.

The syndicate official denounced "the failure of any official from the ministry regarding the date of salary disbursement" and the "deterioration" of the company's fleet of buses.

Tunisia has been witnessing a continuous economic crisis for years, exacerbated by the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Covid-19 crisis.

The International Monetary Fund announced two weeks ago that it had reached an expert-level agreement with the Tunisian authorities to grant it a loan of $1.9 billion over 48 months, pending final approval to be approved next December.

In return for the loan, the Tunisian government undertakes to implement a package of reforms, the most important of which is reviewing the subsidy policy and granting it to those who deserve it, as well as restructuring and reforming government companies.