Moroccan Ministry of Employment is committed to dialogue with the unions about the strike

The Moroccan Ministry of Employment announced, Tuesday, it’s committed to dialogue with unions regarding a draft law regulating strikes in the kingdom, which is still under consideration in parliament.

In a statement, an official from the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that “the commitment is contained in a letter sent by the ministry to both the Arab Federation of Trade Unions and the World Federation of Trade Unions”.  The two unions have previously called for a dialogue with the trade unions on a draft law regulating strikes in the kingdom as well as withdrawing it from parliament.

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The Moroccan official said that the Ministry of Employment is not pursuing anyone because of trade union affiliation and that it called on the organisations concerned to avoid making general judgments and identify specific cases to be investigated. Concerning the call for the withdrawal of the draft law regulating strikes in the country from the parliament, the ministry confirmed – according to the Moroccan official – that “the bill has been given to Parliament, and thus became the property of the legislative institution.”

In September 2016, the former Moroccan government approved a draft law regulating strikes in the country. However, it has since been under consideration by the House of Representatives (lower house of parliament). The draft law consists of 49 clauses, and stipulates in article 5 that any call to strike contrary to the provisions of this regulatory law is considered invalid and that any strike for political purposes is “prohibited”. According to Article 26, in the event of a strike, the employer, in contravention of the provisions of this law, may claim compensation for possible losses and damages caused to the Corporation.