Morocco Cancels Wage Cut for Non-Fully-Vaccinated Public Workers

Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform announced on Friday the cancellation of a recent decision imposing deductions on the salaries of civil servants and workers in public institutions who did not complete their COVID-19 vaccination.

In a press release, the ministry attributed its reversal of the wage cut to the positive commitment of civil servants and employees in the public sector towards COVID-19 preventive measures.

The cancellation comes in light of ongoing social dialogue between the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch and other ministers with public and private stakeholders, the statement added.

The meetings have addressed pressing demands in various vital sectors as well as the need to raise awareness about the necessity of COVID-19 preventive measures to reach herd immunity.

On February 2, Akhannouch held a meeting with different governmental stakeholders to advance the national vaccination project within public administrations and institutions.

The meeting concluded with general secretaries at different public ministries and institutions expressing their “firm desire to ensure compliance with all instructions, and to mobilize all resources to … protect human capital and maintain the safety of citizens.”

After the meeting, the government imposed mandatory vaccination for access to the workplace, which quickly raised public outrage. Unions have strongly refuted the measure.

On February 13, Morocco’s Democratic Confederation of Labor organized a nationwide protest to denounce mandatory vaccination for access to the workplace.

They shared their concerns on the “abusive nonlegal actions” and “threatening” approaches used by the government to impose “mandatory vaccination” for “access to workplaces.”

Prior to the protest, the confederation engaged in dialogue with Akhannouch. Like them, multiple trade unions and representatives of employees in public and private sectors such as tourism, education, and healthcare have met with government representatives to address some long-standing demands.

While some of them got closer to their objectives, others are still calling for change and cooperation from the government.