HRW urges Morocco to implement mechanisms for the new domestic workers law

Morocco must comply with its new domestic workers law that entered into force on October the 2nd, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday.

The international NGO believes that the Moroccan authorities should «ensure that there are robust labor inspections, provide domestic workers with improved access to dispute-resolution system and raise awareness about the new law».

The new law was approved by the Moroccan parliament in July 2016 but its implementation was delayed. It is designed to allow domestic workers to have a standard contract, determined working hours, a weekly rest day and a minimum wage.

But for HRW, the law provides weak protections to the workers. The association has even sent a memorandum to the Moroccan authorities urging them to «enhance access to justice and implementing mechanisms for the new law».

«Morocco’s new domestic workers law finally provides hundreds of thousands of domestic workers with minimal protections after years of exclusion from the country’s labor law», said Rothna Begum, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. «But to make these rights a reality, the authorities need to put effective systems in place to ensure compliance with the law», she added.

Human Rights Watch recalls that many domestic workers are mostly vulnerable, as they live in their employers’ houses with informal working arrangements.