A general view shows Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunis, Tunisia, July 30, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian airport employees have called off a strike slated to take place this week after a deal was reached with the government to improve work conditions, their union said on Monday, averting a threatened disruption of tourist traffic.

The government had met most of the aviation sector’s demands, the union in charge of airport workers said in a statement. It gave no further details but added that the peak tourist and Muslim pilgrimage season were further reasons for calling off the strike, which had been announced by a union leader hours earlier.

Tunisia is in the midst of an austerity program agreed with foreign donors such as the International Monetary Fund. Government officials have rejected union demands for pay rises in a bloated public service which the IMF wants to trim.

The country’s tourism sector has recovered since two Islamist militant attacks in 2015 killed dozens of foreigners.

Some 3 million tourists visited Tunisia from Jan. 1 through to June 30, up 26 percent from the same period last year, according to official figures seen by Reuters this month.