This Sunday morning, in front of the Parliament in Rabat, around a hundred Moroccan civil retirees organised a peaceful demonstration to claim their rights and draw the authorities' attention to the stagnation of their pensions. This protest, planned for a long time, follows a persistent demand for the improvement of conditions for retirees in Morocco, whose rights have not been revised for over 25 years.
Among the retirees present this Sunday were pensioners from various sectors, notably Maroc Telecom, as well as military personnel, illustrating the scale of the mobilisation of this segment of the population. The demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the "indifference" of the various successive governments that have not met their expectations. They are notably demanding the alignment of civil retirees' pensions with those of active civil servants, as well as the implementation of a system of social benefits and free healthcare for retirees and their families.
Ahmed Abir, Vice-President of the Association of Civil Retirees in Morocco, highlighted to Hespress FR the urgency of the situation. "Our rights have not been revised for over 25 years. Retirees are still asking to be aligned with active civil servants, because it has been too long since we benefited from a good increase. Our role is therefore to defend the interests of all retirees, whether they are civil, military, or widows of retirees," he lamented, insisting on the simplicity of the retirees' demands.
"We are asking to be aligned with civil servants, and for social and hospital benefits to be guaranteed and free for retirees and their families. We also demand to be represented in both chambers of Parliament and in social dialogue, as well as in the social works of all ministerial departments. We want the Moroccan retiree to be treated with dignity, like their counterparts in other countries of the world, with privileges such as free access to public transport," he confided.
For his part, Ahmed Mounib, a member of the SONASID Union, highlighted the importance of this mobilisation to draw the attention of Moroccan officials.
"We are here to draw the attention of our officials to the situation of Moroccan retirees. We are asking for an increase in the pension, which has remained stagnant for too long. We also wish for the situation of retirees to be taken into consideration more broadly, by offering benefits similar to those granted in other democratic countries, such as facilitated access to healthcare, transport, and rehousing," he confided to Hespress FR before concluding: "We call for broad support from the media, unions, and political parties of Morocco to defend our rights".
This demonstration is part of a series of actions to improve the living conditions of civil retirees in Morocco, a group often neglected in public debate. The demands expressed this Sunday remain clear: a serious consideration of their material and social needs, and a significant reform of the pension system.
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