UGTM, CDT Call for Warning General Strike on April 25

The General Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM/close to the Istiqlal Party) and the Democratic Labor Confederation (CDT/close to the Socialist union of popular forces) have called for a warning general strike on April 25.

In a statement made public after the two unions' executive boards held a meeting in Casablanca Sunday, the UGTM and the CDT voiced resolve to defend the workers' social and material claims, in line with the provisions of the joint statement of August 1996.

CDT and UGTM are close respectively to the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Istiqlal Party, two major parties in the Moroccan government.

The two unions called for the respect of unionist freedom and rights and for dialog to settle social conflicts, stressing the need to settle the unemployment crisis, to increase workers'wages and to generalize social security and medical cover.

The UGTM and the CDT, along with the UMT (Moroccan Labor Union), are the three major unions in Morocco.