Moroccan Teacher Unions Call for New Round of Strikes

Rabat – Moroccan teachers’ unions are calling for yet another four-day strike next week, protesting the Education Ministry’s newly passed reform, which they say adds more responsibilities without offering proper compensation.

In a statement on Saturday, the National Assembly for Education, a workers union, called the government’s recent efforts to return to the negotiations table “misleading,” claiming that it “excludes the true representatives of educators.”

The statement further calls for teachers to stage another series of strikes on November 28, 29, and 30. The statement also called on teachers to rally on November 29 in front of regional education academies.

Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch announced last week that the government is returning to the negotiation table with unions, and asked teachers to return to their classes.

Akhannouch’s remarks did little to quell the anger of teachers as they have continued to announce a series of strikes, crippling Morocco’s education sectors.

Earlier estimates indicated that 30% of teachers in public schools are taking part in the strike, making it one of the biggest labor strikes in the education sector.

In an attempt to curb the rising tide of protests and its effect on education, the Ministry of National Education has decided to deduct salaries from teachers who are currently on strike.

The decision sparked outrage among the unions, who see it as a violation of workers’ right to go on strike.

Responding to the strikes earlier this month, the Minister of Education Chakib Benmoussa said in comments during a House of Representatives session that the mandate “does not cover raising salaries,” emphasizing that the issue should be discussed separately outside of the framework of the new reform.

“The school, as a space for learning, should have its staff working as a team towards the set objectives,” Benmoussa added, stressing: “We provide the means, we are the team, and we motivate it, and we haven’t asked anyone to do more than what they are currently doing.”