Morocco passes strike law amid rising tension with trade unions
Morocco has passed a strike law amid rising tensions between the government and trade unions regarding the rights of the working class, reported by the BBC on February 6th.
The House of Representatives approved the draft law which sets out the conditions and appropriate modalities for striking, providing, in essence, the legal processes required for workers to strike.
The passing of this law coincides with a two-day strike called by trade unions to protest the “government’s antisocial policy, which seeks to pass bills that harm the gains of the working class.”
Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch has said that the law will provide increased levels of certainty for investors and employers, making Morocco a more attractive destination for trade and investment.
In line with the Prime minister, Younes Skouri, Minister for Economic Inclusion, said the law “provides guarantees that protect the rights of workers, freedom of work and the rights of employers,” before adding that the law strikes a balance between the rights of the workers and the rights of the people by ensuring the continuation of vital services, according to the BBC.
However, the workers of Morocco seem to have united in their opposition to this law with the Moroccan Labour Union stating the participation rate in the strike exceeded eighty percent; the largest protest since 2016, according to Maghrebi.
Trade unions have said the law shows a transition from the logic of regulation to the logic of prevention and restriction, arguing the new conditions laid out prevent an open strike and limit the effectivity of protest.
For example, the new draft law increases the “duration of notification of the strike to 7 days in the case of a national strike and 5 days in the case of a regional strike,” reported the BBC, which trade unions have argued provides employers with the opportunity to negate the effects of the strike by bringing in temporary workers to fill the production gap.
The purpose of a strike, rendering a business of institution temporarily ineffective through a sudden and unexpected withdrawal of the labour force, has been decimated by this new strike law and undermines workers’ rights.
It is, however, important to note that the trade unions in Morocco have been “politicized”, according to Rachid Lazrak, president of the North African Centre for Studies and Research, where most unions are associated with different political parties, generating a plurality of interests and agendas which undermine the unity of the movement and reducing the bargaining power vis-à-vis the government.
These developments also come at a time where the unemployment rate in Morocco has increased to 13.3% in 2024 from 13% in the previous year, with a struggling economy battered by droughts and lack of investment.
BBC, Maghrebi
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