The entry into the year 2025 is not a passing event for the educational workforce in Morocco, as it sees it as an announcement of the beginning of a new year through which it looks forward to committing to completing the implementation of what was agreed upon with the government in the wake of the “2023 Movement.” The second part of the wage increase, estimated at 750 dirhams, will be disbursed as part of the wage for the month of January.
Professors are currently wondering whether the executive institution will commit to disbursing this part of the wage increase at the agreed upon time, especially after the first part was not disbursed in January 2024 and was delayed until the end of April, which is a scenario that they refuse to repeat again.
According to the agreements of December 10 and 26, 2023, the government and the most representative educational unions agreed to “approval of a general increase in the wages of all women and men in education, in their various capacities and grades, in a net monthly amount set at 1,500 dirhams, to be disbursed in two equal installments (January 1, 2024 – January 2025). )”, where the value of each part reaches 750 dirhams.
Professors Hespress spoke to about the issue cling to “the government’s respect for what was previously agreed upon, and that the 1,500 dirham increase in wages, if completed, remains important and considered in principle.” However, it does not mean the final treatment of the social and economic situation of professors,” stressing “the importance of disbursing the various other compensations that were agreed upon.”
Faisal Al-Arbawi, an educational activist and member of the National Coordination for Professors Victims of the Promotion Freeze, said: “What we know up to now and what was agreed upon with the government in advance is that this second part of the increase will be disbursed within the current January salary (at the end of it, of course); This is what we stress on fulfilling and respecting it, so that there is no delay in disbursing it, as happened with regard to the first part.”
Al-Arbawi added, in a statement to Hespress, that “educational workers expect everything from the government apparatus, which has so far shown its lack of commitment to matters that are not financially costly, let alone commitments that have an impact on the budget!”, adding: “In general, this increase remains in The minimum acceptable limits are also considered important, but at the same time they are not comparable to the efforts of the educational body.”
According to the same spokesman, this increase, which is expected to be completed, “does not reassure the educational community due to the increases in prices and the changes in the social and economic landscape in Morocco.” It is also less than its counterpart granted to other sectors, at a time when we are talking about the sector with the largest number of employees in Morocco,” reaffirming “the priority of committing to disbursing it at the specified and agreed upon time.”
In a related context, Ismail Kabiri, a professor in the sector and a former member of the National Coordination for Teachers of Qualifying Secondary Education, explained that “political responsibility imposes on the government a commitment to disburse the second part of the increase in wages for the month of January; This is what we actually cling to as an educational worker.”
Kabiri confirmed, in a statement to Hespress, that “the correct thing was to adhere to what was previously agreed upon, as specific compensation has not yet been disbursed, including compensation for difficult areas and supplementary compensation for education teachers.” In this case, these increases could have had a relative impact on the social status of the professor in Morocco.”
After speaking about “the necessity of settling the situation of professors suspended as a result of the education movement in 2023,” the same speaker stated that “an increase of 1,500 dirhams in wages will never be the means that can improve the situation of professors, as the duty and obligation is positive discrimination in favor of this group that constitutes the backbone of “The progress we aspire to, especially in light of the severe economic and social situation.”
