Rabat – Morocco’s government has reached an agreement with teaching unions regarding a salary increase, seeking to end a series of teacher strikes.
The agreement, which was signed by the government and union representatives on Sunday evening, includes a general salary increase of MAD 1,500 (nearly $150). The raise will be applied in two equal installments in January 2024 and January 2025.
Teachers have been striking for several weeks since the start of the academic year in September, leaving public school students with several missing classes.
Commenting on the agreement, Minister of Education Chakib Benmoussa said that this is a “very important milestone that can create a positive atmosphere within the sector.”
He added that the agreement between the two parties will address a series of problems related to salary increases, with an agreed-upon monthly increase of MAD 1,500 for all sector employees.
Among other details agreed on as part of the agreement are monthly increases in specific allowances for teachers outside the scale, starting from scale 5.
It also concerns additional allowances of MAD 500 per month for qualifying secondary school teachers, and new additional allowances of MAD 500 for educational administrators.
Converging reports have said that teachers are going on strike this week again despite the agreement.
The strikes are in response to the unified status policy, demanding its abolition.
Read Also: Moroccan Teacher Unions’ Call for More Strikes Next Week
Initially, teachers have been demanding raises of MAD 2,500 and MAD 3,000.
However, Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch has emphasized that this is not possible as applying a raise of MAD 2,500 would require spending MAD 5 billion from the state budget.
