The Moroccan authorities had been thinking about regulating the right to strike in a transparent way for several years, but were unable to achieve this in the face of determined opposition. During a legislative session held on 3 February 2025, the House of Councillors adopted by a majority the amended draft organic law no. 97.15 laying down the conditions and procedures for exercising the right to strike, with 41 votes in favour, 7 against and no abstentions.
On February 3 2025, the House of Councillors adopted the majority of the amendments proposed by the trade unions as part of its examination of draft organic law no. 97-15 laying down the conditions and procedures for exercising the right to strike in Morocco, affirming its desire to protect workers’ rights while respecting the freedom to work. One of the key points of the debate was the inclusion of the right to strike for all categories of workers, a measure which marks a break with the provisions of the previous legislation which excluded certain categories.
“The unions took a lot of consultative liberties on this issue, and the CGM was very flexible, considering that the text could be amended in the future. We voted in favour because this is an historic moment. This text has been awaited for 62 years. It will finally see the light of day.”
Abdelillah Hidfi, Member of the CGEM parliamentary group – Morocco
During the discussions, which were marked by the withdrawal of the members of the Union marocaine du travail (UMT) group in protest against the current version of the bill, Younes Sekkouri, Minister for Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, announced that employers would not be able to use substitute employees. As a result, the authorities will be able to impose a fine of up to 200,000 dirhams on a company boss for an abusive sanction such as dismissal or the illegal closure of a business. Another change is that ‘physical restraint’ will not be used against strikers subject to financial penalties. In other words, a striker cannot be imprisoned for non-payment.
“We withdrew from this session to condemn the government’s attitude and by extension that of the Minister of Labour, who has not honoured his commitments to the trade union movement, led by the UMT. We believe that the committee meeting was a political scandal, as none of our proposed amendments were taken into account.”
Nourredine Souleïk, Chairman of the UMT Group – Morocco
The authorities did not fail to point out that for a strike to be legal and authorised, it will be sufficient for 25% of staff to vote in favour, instead of 70% as previously practised’, although strikes will still be prohibited in the forces of law and order and in sectors where the interests of the nation are likely to be threatened.
