Reiterating the government’s commitment to interact constructively with the amendments presented by parliamentary groups and MPs, Mr. Sekkouri stressed the need to leverage “l’intelligence collective» with a view to concretizing all the amendments and proposals according to the three priorities contained in the speech of HM King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the opening of the first session of the fifth legislative year of the ninth legislature. These priorities relate, let us remember, to the protection of working class “considered as the weak link in the equation”, the protection of the national production chain “which respects the law”, but also the protection of the health and safety of citizens “through the guarantee of public service and good provision of vital services”.
The right to strike, an essential pillar of collective freedoms and a major axis of social dialogue, is the subject of fierce discussions in the political, union and parliamentary sphere with a view to an unprecedented reform. During a meeting dedicated, Friday, November 29, 2024, to the presentation of the priorities of the 2025 budget before the members of the Committee on Education, Cultural and Social Affairs in the House of Advisors, Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Inclusion economic, small business, employment and skills, revealed the outlines of the organic bill on the right to strike. According to him, this text promises to reconcile the expectations of workers, the demands of employers and the needs of a decent working climate. Return to a legislative project which arouses hope and debate.
As for the custodial sentencesthe Minister of Employment expressed his agreement regarding the repeal of these penalties in the event of a legal and authorized strike: “Among the 334 amendments tabled by the different parliamentary groups of the House of Representatives, which I have read in their entirety, I am pleased to announce that the government and I have decided to abolish custodial sentences in the event of a legal and authorized strike,” he declared during the questions session oral hearings in the Chamber of Deputies.
With a view to further softening the text of the said bill, Younes Sekkouri announced major changes such as removing restrictions on political strikes, solidarity strikes and alternative strikes, included in the initial version of the bill. Likewise, the duration of the strike notice will be reduced, specified the minister, emphasizing that the deadline imposed in the initial text was excessively long. “We have agreed on a measure guaranteeing respect for production, both for employers and for employees who choose not to strike,” he added. In this sense, he expressed his desire to guarantee “both employers and employees negotiations which result, ideally, without recourse to strike.”
The meeting of the Social Sectors Commission, scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, was to focus more on these demands. However, other fundamental changes, focused on “repealing the provision prohibiting political strike”, “repealing the provision prohibiting alternating strike” and “removing the ban on sympathy strike », were to be reviewed with a view to being voted on during this session.
Morocco
