Civil servants' promotion would cost the state $700 million
Morocco, Economics, 4/25/2000

Generalizing the internal promotion of civil servants, decided under an agreement reached Sunday between the government, two trade unions and employers will cost the state $700 million over three years, said the spokesman of the government, Khalid Alioua.

In a press conference, Alioua, who is also social development, solidarity, employment and vocational training minister, said the measure comes to end injustice against some sectors of public administration staff.

Regarding the 10% increase of the guaranteed inter-professional minimum salary SMIG which would be set at 1,815 Dhs ($181.5) as of next July, Alioua said this action, decided under an agreement reached on Sunday between the government, two trade unions and the employers association, risks to affect some productive sectors and, therefore, it was decided to create sectoral SMIGs set according to the productivity and profitability of each sector.

Meanwhile, Alioua denied that the agreement provides for withdrawing the labor code project from the parliament, explaining that the signatories convened to carry on discussions of the pending items of the project and that only the UMT, a trade union that withdrew from the government-employers-trade unions meetings, called social dialogue, had asked for the draft law withdrawal from the parliament.

Alioua went on that the action is legally impossible since the labor code project was already approved by the ministers council and he will hold another meeting with the social dialogue partners starting next month to reach a consensus.

The government has further developed a law project to settle labor conflicts to avoid lengthy legal action.

On Sunday, the government, two major trade unions and the employers associations reached an agreement that meets social grievances and avert a general strike planned for this April 25.

The government has agreed to increase by 10% the guaranteed inter-professional minimum salary which would be set at 1,815 Dhs ($181.5) as of next July, generalize internal promotion in Moroccan public administration starting 2001, create 17,000 new jobs in public service by turn of current fiscal year and grant a permanent status to provisional employees by 2001.

Under the agreement dubbed "The 19 Moharram 1421 accord" that spares Morocco a general strike, as put by Alioua, the government undertakes to improve social welfare, re-consider the taxes imposed on wage-earners and set up a tri-partite committee to see to the agreement enforcement.

The creation of a board to compensate unemployed persons and generalizing the compulsory health insurance and social coverage are other items agreed upon between the three partners (government, the two trade unions and the employers association).

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan ports staff end strike   (4/24/2000)
  Morocco to post 1.2% growth rate in 2000   (4/14/2000)
  Government council probes transition finance bill   (4/6/2000)

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