TUNIS, (Reuters) – Tunisia’s strong labour union announced Monday that they would stage a nationwide strike to protest the country’s economy and wages. The move came after it refused to join a dialogue with the president during his constitutional rewrite.

More than a million members make the UGTT Tunisia’s strongest political force. Their call for a strike might be President Kais Seied’s biggest challenge since his seize of wide powers and move to one-man rule.

Since last summer, Saied has been focusing on his political agenda. He ignored the parliament and discarded most of Tunisia’s democratic constitution in order to claim he would be ruling by decree even though there was an economic crisis.

Opponents accuse the president of coup that undermines the democratic gains from the Arab Spring 2011 revolution. But he insists that his actions were legal and necessary to rescue Tunisia’s political crisis.

While the union demands a national dialogue regarding both political and economic reforms it has rejected Saied’s request that it join an advisory group that would include other civil societies organisations which could offer ideas for reform.

Saied last week stated that the constitution would not allow political parties to participate in its formation. The new document would replace that which emerged after an inclusive debate between Tunisia’s top political factions.

Sami Tahri, spokesperson for UGTT said that they reject formal dialogues in which the roles of each party are unilaterally determined and civil and political forces are exempted.

Tahri announced that the dates of the strike will be made public by UGTT members in government services and state businesses.

Saied’s government has been in discussions with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a bailout. This is necessary to wardoff national bankruptcy. However, the UGTT rejected the proposed spending cuts, and wants wages increases for state employees.