Government tries preemptive meeting to stop general-strike

The government has invited the Moroccan three major unions UMT, CDT and UGTM as well as the employers' confederation CGEM to a meeting Friday under the chairmanship of Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi, said government spokesman and minister of social development, solidarity, employment and vocational training Khalid Alioua.

Alioua told the press following the government council Thursday, the fact that unions did not respond to repeated calls to dialogue by the government does not help settle issues.

The CDT (Confederation Democratique du Travail) and the UGTM (Union generale des Travailleurs du maroc) have called for a general-strike for Tuesday April 25 to press on with social claims.

The leaders of the two trade unions said Thursday at a news conference in Casablanca that the stoppage will go ahead as planned because no major development has come to warrant cancellation or delay.