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This week, the House of Representatives approved the draft organic law outlining the conditions and procedures for exercising the right to strike in Morocco, with 124 votes in favor and 41 against.
The bill, introduced by Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, underwent significant amendments during discussions in the Social Sectors Committee. A total of 334 amendments were proposed by groups of deputies, and 56 by the government. Key changes included the repeal of restrictions on strikes by alternation and political strikes, and the removal of the phrase «most severe criminal penalty» from articles involving penalties that could result in imprisonment.
The adopted text specifies in Article 2 that «a strike involves any voluntary and collective stoppage of the exercise of a profession or work by professionals, self-employed workers, non-salaried persons, and domestic workers, for a specified period, with a view to defending a right or an interest linked to the improvement of their professional conditions».
The government also introduced the option to seek urgent legal intervention to temporarily halt a strike. A new paragraph added to Article 20 states that «the public authorities concerned may refer the matter to the interim relief judge at the competent court to obtain a court order to temporarily suspend the strike, when it threatens public order or interrupts the minimum service».
Crucial step before pension reform
This legislative move is seen as a crucial step before the proposed pension reform. Following the House's approval, the bill will be reviewed by parliamentary advisors in the coming weeks. The organic law on strikes, first mentioned in the kingdom's 1962 constitution, has long awaited adoption.
The April 29 agreement between the government and social partners, including trade unions and employers, announced the drafting of «an organic law on the conditions and procedures for exercising the right to strike, in compliance with the Constitution and international legislation». The law aims to balance the constitutional right to strike with the freedom to work, as stated in a government press release.
In the wake of this legislative development, the Akhannouch government plans to present a pension scheme reform in early 2025. Meanwhile, representatives from trade unions and political parties have formed a «Front against the strike law and pension reform».
