Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Morocco (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 1 September 2017, concerning anti-union acts, including dismissals of trade union leaders at a steel company and in the dock sector. The Committee also notes the observations of the Democratic Labour Confederation (CDT) and the Moroccan Labour Union (UMT), received in August 2017, deploring the lack of measures taken by the authorities to promote collective bargaining, and also certain rules and practices relating to the election of staff representatives, which have the effect of undermining the possibility of engaging in collective bargaining. While taking note of the information provided by the Government in reply to the previous observations of the ITUC, the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on all the allegations received in 2017.

Article 4 of the Convention. Representativeness required for engaging in negotiations. The Committee previously requested the Government to report on progress made regarding the adoption of the Trade Union Bill, which lowered the level of representativeness required to engage in collective bargaining from 35 per cent to 25 per cent and introduced measures to establish an inter-union coalition enabling trade unions which have not obtained the required percentage to participate in collective bargaining. The Committee notes that, according to the UMT, the social partners have not yet examined the question of revising the minimum percentage in the context of consultations on the Trade Union Bill. The Government indicates that the consultation of the social partners with regard to the Trade Union Bill is still in progress and that the adoption thereof has been deferred to the 2017–21 period in order to obtain a consensus on certain provisions which are reportedly still an area of disagreement. Recalling that since 2004 it has been emphasizing the need for amendments to the law with regard to this issue, the Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary steps to initiate consultations as soon as possible with the social partners in order to make the representativeness criteria for engaging in collective bargaining more flexible, and expects that the Government will report that the Trade Union Bill has been adopted.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining for certain categories of public servants and employees not engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee recalls that its previous comments referred to the need for the Government to amend the legislation so that it grants the right to organize and to engage in collective bargaining to staff in the prison administration, lighthouse workers, and water and forestry workers, as well as public employees and civil servants who exercise a function involving the right to carry a weapon who, in the Committee’s view, are not members of the police or armed forces (categories which may be excluded from the application of the Convention, under the terms of Article 5). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the abovementioned staff benefit from the exclusion from the scope of application established for the police and armed forces in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87). The Committee recalls that it considers that staff in the prison administration, lighthouse workers, and water and forestry workers cannot be deemed to have equivalent status to the police or armed forces despite the fact that some of these officials carry a service weapon. Consequently, the latter cannot benefit from the exclusion provided for by Article 5 of the Convention and should enjoy, through their representatives, the right to engage in collective bargaining. The Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to amend the legislation in this respect, particularly within the framework of the legislative agenda for 2017–21, and requests it to provide information on any progress achieved.

Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the steps taken to promote the use of collective bargaining, and also on the number of collective agreements concluded, the sectors concerned and the number of workers covered.