Morocco: workers’ union seeks new agreement with government

The Secretary-General of the Moroccan Workers’ Union (UMT) said on Sunday that he hopes to reach a new “social agreement” with the government before the upcoming Labour Day, Anadolu has reported. Miloudi Moukharik made his comment during a speech at the opening of the union’s conference being held in Oujda governorate.

Moukharik added that he has called on Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to “accelerate the rate of meetings of dialogue committees in order to reach an agreement that responds to the demands of the working class.”

The union has submitted to the prime minister a memorandum with detailed demands, the first of which is setting out a methodology for a “real and effective” social dialogue.

“The common denominator of the demands of the public and private sectors is to increase wages, which has become necessary to redress the damaged purchasing power due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and the consequences of the current international situation,” explained Moukharik. “The minimum wage in the private sector is not enough to last a couple with a child for more than five days, according to a study carried out by the union.”

The first rounds of social dialogue between the government and the unions commenced on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 February. An earlier agreement in 2019 saw the government increase the minimum wage and family allowances.

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