Draft law on the right to strike: its context, its objectives, its evolution and the validated amendments

Sunday 19th January 2025 12:59 PM

While the revolt against the organic bill n°97.15 defining the conditions and modalities of exercise of the right to strike continues to rise – a national protest march took place yesterday in Rabat – it would be appropriate to review the legislative journey of this text, its new features, the validated amendments and the political and constitutional context of its development.

Political and constitutional context

The legislative process aimed at regulating the exercise of the right to strike is part of the completion of the Moroccan constitutional structure, which has consecrated, from the first Constitution of the Kingdom in 1962, and in all subsequent Constitutions, including that of 2011, the guarantee of the exercise of this right. Organic bill No. 97.15 therefore aims to strengthen the Moroccan democratic experience and consolidate the foundations of the rule of law.

This text also aims to establish the social state, as a political and social horizon advocated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and which the government is committed to making a reality. The challenge is also to improve the investment environment by establishing a social climate of trust likely to promote economic and social development. This issue is all the more important as Morocco prepares for major national and international deadlines, requiring a solid and reliable institutional framework. By establishing a balanced framework for the exercise of the right to strike, this organic bill will strengthen social justice as well as the rights and freedoms of all stakeholders. Because the adoption of this project will also contribute to establishing a unique political and social model, reconciling the requirements of representative democracy and the participatory approach necessary for democratic construction.

Since 2016, for various reasons, discussion of this bill has been impossible. Indeed, in the absence of an institutionalized social dialogue and lack of real involvement of the social partners in the preparation of the text before its submission to Parliament, it was difficult to initiate the legislative process relating to this project.

Definition of fundamental principles and start of the legislative process

Since its advent, the current government has worked to institutionalize the dialogue social notably through the signing of the National Charter of Social Dialogue. In this context, he promoted the signing of two historic social agreements. These agreements include, among their commitments, the implementation of the organic law relating to the conditions and modalities for exercising the right to strike.

The social agreement of April 29, 2024, which aimed to execute the remaining commitments of the social agreement of April 30, 2022, provided for the scheduling of the discussion of this bill and its adoption during the spring 2024 parliamentary session This agreement also defined the fundamental principles of this organic law, in particular:

• Ensure compliance of the draft organic law with the provisions of the Constitution and international conventions relating to the exercise of the right to strike.

• Supervise the exercise of the right to strike in the public and private sectors, ensuring a balance between this constitutional right and freedom of work.

• Specify the different concepts linked to the exercise of the right to strike.

• Regulate services which, due to their nature and vitality, require the establishment of a minimum service for the duration of the strike.

• Strengthen mechanisms for dialogue, conciliation and negotiation to resolve collective labor conflicts.

Consultations carried out following a participatory approach

With this in mind, the government carried out extensive consultations involving the social partners and the ministerial departments concerned regarding this organic bill. A series of consultative meetings spanning more than 22 months took place, totaling more than 65 meetings, including 30 with social partners, 20 with relevant government departments, the Superior Council of the Judiciary and the General Prosecutor’s Office, as well as 15 working sessions with the head of government devoted to consultations and discussions on the initial version of the bill. In this context, the social partners expressed their strong desire to participate in the consultations seriously and responsibly, contributing to the debate to bring together points of view and enrich the provisions of the project with proposals linked to concrete strike practices and international experiences. relevant. The legislative process of this project included four in-depth discussion sessions with the participation of all representatives of the parties and parliamentary groups sitting in the Council of Representatives. A presentation session took place on July 16, 2024 before the Social Sectors Committee of the House of Representatives, followed by a general discussion on July 18, 2024.

After the opinion of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and the memorandum of the National Human Rights Council, following a referral from the President of the House of Representatives, a detailed discussion of the provisions of the project took place on October 31, 2024 On December 3, 2024, the Social Sectors Commission adopted the organic bill by majority, after discussions lasting more than 17 hours. The first phase within the House of Representatives concluded with a plenary session devoted to the discussion and vote on organic bill No. 97.15 as a whole, on December 24, 2024.

According to the government, the text has undergone substantial amendments

In light of the social dialogue sessions on this organic bill, the government was able to introduce substantial amendments which made it possible to reach consensus on several fundamental articles, notably article 1 and article 4, as well as the removal of banned strikes, custodial sentences and any referral to more severe criminal sanctions.

Among the main new features of the organic bill approved by the House of Representatives, we can cite:

The expansion of the categories concerned by the exercise of the right to strike to professionals, independent workers and self-employed workers (TNS), domestic workers, miners, sailors, janitors, journalists and other specific categories of workers.
A revision of the definition of strike, including the expression “total or partial stoppage of work” and removing the expression “in a planned manner”.
The modification of the definition of the public sector to include “public services under the control of the State, local authorities, legal entities under public law attached to them, as well as public establishments not having an industrial or commercial character, as well as any legal entity under public law.
Adding a definition of the private sector as “natural or legal persons, other than those mentioned in the definition of the public sector, who maintain an employment relationship with their employees”.
The removal of bans on political or alternating strikes.
The expansion of entities authorized to call strikes, including representative unions in public services.
Granting a certain number of private sector employees the right to call a strike via a strike committee, with relaxed conditions for decision-making.
The abolition of the requisition procedure.
The removal of custodial sanctions and the referral to more severe criminal sanctions.
The harmonization of the structure of the text, the coherence of the articles and the precision of the terms used.