Moroccan trade unions, government to continue negotiations

10/04/2008

The latest round of negotiations between trade unions and the Moroccan government failed to yield a comprehensive solution. The talks will continue in the coming weeks, in hopes the two sides will agree on increases in wages and benefits for Moroccan workers.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 10/04/08

[Sarah Touahri] Morocco's trade unions have mobilised en masse in the past few weeks to make known their demands for better wages and lower taxes. A second round of negotiations concluded on Monday (April 7th).

The second round of labour negotiations between the Moroccan government and trade union confederations was held Monday (April 7th) in Rabat. In recent weeks, trade unions have staged several stoppages to convince the government of the urgency of their demands.

Though the government's latest proposals include an increase in the guaranteed minimum wage and family allowances and a cut in income tax, Miloud Moukharik of the Moroccan Workers' Union (UMT) said they "do not meet the demands of the working class or the dossiers submitted by the UMT."

He explained that the union is calling for income tax to be lowered from 42% to 38% in 2008 and then 35% in 2009, with those earning under 36,000 dirhams a year to be exempted. It also wants to see pensions increased and exempted from taxation.

Other issues include the enforcement of the Labour Code, expanded trade union freedoms, and a rise in the guaranteed minimum wage. The UGTM has called for the minimum wage to be set at 4,000 dirhams per month, though other union organisations are calling for a lower level, with the FDT demanding a monthly minimum wage of 3,000 dirhams and the UMT calling for one of 2,500 dirhams.

The government says that it sees no obstacle to a rise in the minimum wage by 10% (190 dirhams) from the current level of 1,841.84 dirhams per month. It has been pleased with how the talks have gone so far and announced it will consider all the demands made by trade unions and their financial implications.

Employment Minister Jamal Aghmani said the talks "took place in a businesslike atmosphere and took account of the international situation as well as the need to increase the incomes of workers, especially those on low incomes, who were the focus of this round of the negotiations."

The government defended the solutions put forward by the two committees, which were created after initial talks in February to learn the workers' demands. According to Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, the government also intends to improve social security benefits for civil servants, company benefit schemes, and health insurance, and will freeze the prices of necessities, by pushing the cap on subsidies to 36 billion dirhams.

But according to Nizar Baraka, Minister Delegate for Economic Affairs, one cannot demand everything from the government, which "draws from the same pool; that of the taxpayers. The government is there to find logical solutions."

He said it is out of the question to raise wages in line with rising prices as some countries do, because it creates a vicious circle which has a negative effect on the rate of inflation. "Raising the minimum wage by 10% several years ago caused a 6% drop in available jobs in the labour market. Our objective is to achieve a balance," Baraka stressed.

Private and public-sector workers expressed doubt that the talks, a third round of which is planned for the coming weeks, would arrive at some concrete results. Mohamed Raji, a public employee, said people don't expect much from the dialogue, which resembles "a play staged between the government and unions on the eve of May 1st."

Sanaa Badaoui, secretary, said it is "regrettable that the government is not transparent in its propositions. We don't know what games it plays with the unions. Salaries must absolutely be reviewed to face the rising cost of living."