Unemployed Moroccan graduates demand public sector jobs
2007-11-15
Possessing diplomas but disillusioned by private sector job options, unemployed Moroccan graduates staged a protest at Istiqlal party offices on Monday.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 15/11/07
 [Sarah Touahri] Unemployed graduates demand unconditional recruitment into the public sector |
Jobless Moroccan graduates blocked the entrance to Istiqlal party offices in Rabat on Monday (November 12th) to demand work in the public sector.
Members of three different protest groups representing the graduates argued that since the state trained them, it also has a duty to provide them with professional work commensurate with their level of education.
Protestors said the location of the sit-in – outside the offices of Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi's Istiqlal Party – was chosen after El Fassi vowed to provide 16,000 public sector jobs in 2008.
The unemployed graduates said an agreement signed with the previous government in August has not yet been implemented. Under the agreement, graduates are to receive priority in taking recruitment examinations to join the civil service, and a special commission is to be formed to oversee the process and inform candidates of their priority status.
Protestors complained that the commission has not been formed, and demanded the abolition of written tests as a condition of employment in state posts. "We want the written tests to be abolished, because the law does not mention them. This strategy allows only those who are connected with officials to get into the available posts," said Ahmed Gandou, a member of the Hiwar protest group. He said the sit-in was a reaction to a recent education ministry decision to recruit 1,000 unemployed white-collar workers, but only once they have taken written and oral tests.
According to the government, the time when all unemployed graduates could be recruited into the civil service is past. The government said the August agreement is clear. It advocates a preferential approach to facilitate unemployed graduates’ access to the civil service by giving them priority in taking the competitive recruitment examinations. It also provides for the re-training of approximately 1,000 unemployed degree-holders to facilitate their integration into the most promising sectors of the national economy.
In its statement before parliament, the new government promised it would create some 250,000 jobs per year, based on the rising rate of growth. The protestors, however, have turned their backs on the private sector in which they have no confidence. They are threatening further sit-ins until their demands are met and they are recruited unconditionally into the public sector.
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acharif moulay abdellah bouskraoui Posted 2007-11-17
In Morocco, this mudslinging is now out-dated and shameless. Even in America and Europe there is a private sector, a semi-public sector and a fully public sector. What the young people are demanding is too much even for a government rich in oil, let alone a country without oil like Morocco. A little bit of brains here, young people!
اخ معطلين Posted 2007-11-18
This disturbance causes more harm than good because the exams make it possible to make good choices while taking into consideration that a rate of these jobs will be awarded to the sons of the rich. But I'm realistic, those who will pass will be removed from the general list, and they're the competent. As among those unemployed there are some who hold just these papers called by the State high degrees, but they're of no value in the market. Don't say that I'm from another planet, but I see the future of my country in quality first and last.
abdelghafor Posted 2008-01-01
jobless is phenomineie in the world same peopele say this is bad but in reality is logic but threr is same humain he isa'nt riche hi don't help same to get ahead in life i have on proverb hi say poverty is not défaut
mohamed lamene Posted 2008-05-05
We should not try to get rich off of the suffering of these victims.
tache Posted 2008-05-07
One of the big causes of unemployment in the world is technological progress and the excessive mechanisation in the developed countries. The big countries gave us an example in terms of unemployment, as they were the first to put a lot of workers out, the machine replacing man. It comes under the guise of over-productivity and, thus, the blind benefits that these governments encouraged a certain vigour for, opening the door to unemployment without thinking about people’s social setting. This is a savage methodology, penalising the poor and under-developed countries because they are obliged to follow the example of the big countries in spite of all the adverse effects that flow from this and that they cannot rid themselves of. This just shows that technological progress has a lot of good and a lot of bad at the same time. This is what they call the opposite side of the coin.
tomarion Posted 2008-06-23
The unemployed use illegal ways to get public functions such as threatening to burn themselves and demonstrating in front of Parliament. But the state is the cause of this because it opens dialogues with them… These methods are outdated. If you want to get a job in primary, preparatory or secondary education you must pass the exams like all the other candidates. If you fail, look for a project or work in the private sector… You weren’t successful in the competition but you want to force you way in.
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