Moroccan unions warn of strike over pay pact

Unions in Morocco are insisting that agreements on wages and bonuses must be implemented before talks with the government can proceed.

Labour leaders are threatening a general strike in April if outstanding issues are not resolved with the help of the prime minister's office, according to the head of the Union for Moroccan Workers, Hamid Chabat.

"2010 will be a year of militancy if the social dialogue proves fruitless," Chabat said in a press release on December 29th.

According to the union leader, the latest series of talks between the prime minister's office and the unions has yet to resolve several important issues. His labour organisation alleges that the government is refusing to begin negotiations on the thorny issue of pay increases, preferring to put off the discussion by another year.

Union members are also upset that the agreed change in pay scales has not been implemented yet. A pact to abolish pay scales 1 through 4 and place all Moroccan civil servants on pay scale 5 has not been activated. As a result of this change, the minimum wage for civil servants would rise from 1,560 dinars to 2,400 dinars, benefitting an estimated 47,500 people.

Another agreement which has yet to be acted on concerns the issue of employees in remote and inaccessible regions. Public servants working in the education and health sectors there were supposed to receive a bonus of 700 dinars per month, after taxes, to be extended across other sectors as well. No such bonus has materialised.

"These agreements must be implemented if labour dialogue is to move forward in practical terms," said Democratic Workers' Union member Abdelhamid Fatihi.

Union leaders are also calling for the introduction of sector-specific dialogues to put an end to continuing issues in the areas of education, justice and local government. The government has not yet announced a timetable for resuming those negotiations.

The dispute over who should pay for unemployment insurance also needs to be resolved, according to labour groups.

A December 28th press statement released by Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi described the latest meeting with labour groups, held on December 21st, as "characteristically serious, responsible" and demonstrating "a high level of commitment". However, he did not announce when the next meeting would be held.

The government is insisting that progress has been made, despite the unions' protests. According to Employment Minister Jamal Rhmani, a new round of social dialogue will be organised in 2010 to study key issues facing the working class.

Rhmani added that the government was conducting a study of the pay regime that would be used as the basis for reviewing the current system. The minister also called attention to the 2% reduction in income tax, which he said would result, in real terms, in a pay rise for both the public and private sectors.

"Then, in 2010 and 2011, the government will go on to begin negotiations on salary increases," he said.

The government has been most concerned with safeguarding jobs in the private sector during the international financial crisis, the minister said. He claimed that support given to 400 companies had so far saved 11,000 jobs.

However, union representatives are insisting that "real" progress must be made in negotiations, and are hoping for more significant results in the coming year.