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Rabat – The Moroccan head of government Saad Eddine El Othmani promised on Thursday that his cabinet will listen to the demands of workers, unions, and businessmen despite a “tough local and international economic situation.”
“The government is committed to raise the bar of social dialogue with economic social actors,” said El Othmani during the weekly government council meeting.
“The meetings that took place this week with the economic and social actors are but just the beginning.” El Othmani’s promises come as labor unions continue to harbor distrust for the government.
On Wednesday, an initial “social dialogue” meeting between the head of government and representatives of worker unions and entrepreneurs took place at the government presidency. The Ministers of Interior, Finance, and Labor were also in attendance.
During the meeting, the slammed the former government and its leader, Abdelilah Benkirane, for a lack of achievements benefiting workers.
Abdelkader Zaïr, the deputy Secretary General of the Moroccan Confederation of Labor (CDT), told newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia that unions will increase pressure on the government to “make their voices heard,” especially if the agreement signed on April 26, 2011, is not respected.
The agreement in question, signed between labor unions and the government of Abbas El Fassi while Arab Spring-inspired protests spread all over Morocco, stipulated an increase in wages of public sector employees, minimum wages, and retirement pensions.
The agreement also granted workers other benefits, such as compensation for the loss of work. However, during the mandate of Benkirane’s cabinet, unions accused the head of government of retracting from the commitments of his predecessor.
