Hundreds of Moroccan trade unionists and workers expressed their firm opposition to the draft law relating to the right to strike, which the government persists in having adopted in Parliament, during a demonstration held this Sunday in Rabat.
Organised by the "National Front for the Defence of the Right to Strike", this march, which started from Bab El Had Square to reach Parliament, demanded that the government "immediately withdraw the organic draft law from the House of Councillors and relaunch the dialogue”.
The protesters directly accused the government of "yielding to the pressures of employers, undermining a constitutional right and seeking to stifle trade union action".
Following the successful presentation by Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, of the draft law to the House of Councillors after clearing the hurdle of the first chamber (the House of Representatives), the protesters warned that their mobilisation would continue until this legislative process is stopped and social dialogue is resumed.
Younès Firachine, member of the executive committee of the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT), stated that "this demonstration constitutes a renewed call to the government to withdraw the organic draft law from the House of Councillors and return it to the social dialogue negotiation table".
In a statement to Hespress, he added that the amended version of this law, which the government pushed through with the support of the majority in the House of Representatives, and which it seeks to replicate in the House of Councillors, "stifles the right to strike and flagrantly violates a constitutional right".
The trade unionist insisted that the mobilisation would continue "without respite or compromise, to defend a right that is guaranteed by the Constitution and international conventions".
Regarding Sekkouri's assurances that the government is continuing to listen to social partners on this subject, despite the progress of the project in the House of Councillors after an initial failure, Firachine stressed that "these statements are not sufficient, and no concrete action has followed them".
The protesters chanted slogans loudly accusing the government, such as: "International scandal, no rights, no freedom / the strike is a legitimate right against repression and against hunger / the strike is a legitimate right and Akhannouch is afraid / No more repression, no more repression, and before God, we do not bow...".
The security authorities, who were present at the entrances to Bab El Had Square and in front of Parliament, ensured the smooth running of the demonstration without intervening.
As for Jamal El Asri, Secretary General of the Unified Socialist Party, present during the march, he accused the government of "adopting a series of laws threatening the freedoms of workers and the rights of employees".
He added to Hespress that his party "condemns the amended version of the draft law relating to the strike, which restricts this constitutional right, without taking into account the international commitments that protect it strictly". The left-wing leader considered that "the government, in its desire to push through an organic draft law rejected by all Moroccan workers, must respond to these demands and organise a new session of social dialogue with the unions without delay".
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