46 workers dismissed days before Marrakech bus station relocation

The surprise came just days before Marrakech's main bus station was due to relocate from its historic Bab Doukkala site to the new El Azzouzia terminal. Around 40 employees of the company currently managing the station learned they had been dismissed under what they describe as unfair circumstances.

According to their testimonies, the 46 workers concerned received no notice within the legally required timeframe. The dismissals were reportedly carried out without the presence of local authorities and without any official report documenting an agreement or prior consultation. Yet, the company is said to be far from facing financial difficulties.

Left in the dark, the dismissed employees were simply paid for the days they had worked in July, along with compensation for their unused annual leave, Omar Arbib, president of the Marrakech-Menara branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), which is following the case, told Yabiladi.

Company «not in financial difficulty»

With no union representation, the workers must now handle all administrative procedures themselves before the city prefecture and the General Directorate of Employment.

«They are therefore hoping to reach a negotiated settlement. Otherwise, they will have no choice but to pursue legal action, which is likely to be a lengthy process», Arbib said.

After speaking with the administration managing the Bab Doukkala bus station, the human rights activist said it «claims to be facing no financial difficulties and is even generating substantial revenue».

«The relocation to the new El Azzouzia site will involve transferring management to another company created by the city council. This raises the question of what will happen to the current employees, starting with the 46 who were dismissed without any prior administrative measures», he added.

Arbib denounced what he described as a «flagrant violation of economic and social rights» that disregards the legal and social safeguards governing such situations.

«Some of the dismissed employees have worked at the bus station for nearly 30 years, and many are close to retirement. Overnight, they were told they no longer had a job, with no respect for the procedures required to terminate their contracts. When we talk about 46 people, we are talking about 46 households and families who depended on the work their breadwinners have now lost», he said, questioning «what led the company to take such a course of action».

According to the head of the AMDH's local branch, the employer should have paid severance, notice and unfair dismissal compensation, while also guaranteeing the workers' right to continue their employment at the new station, especially since «the project to relocate the bus station has been under way for years and is now entering its final stages».

Alleged violations of labour law

Recalling the applicable legal framework, the association argued that the dismissals constituted «a flagrant violation of the Labour Code, as well as Morocco's international obligations, including International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on the protection of workers, the prohibition of unfair dismissal and respect for social dialogue, not to mention the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights».

In a statement sent to Yabiladi, the Marrakech-Menara branch of the AMDH condemned the company's actions and called on it to reinstate the 46 employees «to their posts at the new bus station or, failing that, to fully restore their rights».

The NGO also urged the Labour Inspectorate and local authorities «to enforce the legal provisions and open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this collective dismissal».

It further called on «the public prosecutor's office and the competent oversight bodies to investigate any suspicion of embezzlement of public funds or mismanagement linked to the new bus station project», arguing that «any development project based on the displacement of workers and the denial of their rights lacks both legal and social legitimacy».

The association also urged trade unions to support the dismissed workers, who now face a race against time to assert their rights. Marrakech's new bus station is expected to enter service on July 24, permanently replacing the Bab Doukkala station.