Morocco: CDT announces successful strike by national education union

The National Education Union under the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT) announced that its national strike on 1-2 December 2020 and its regional and local protest rallies were successful.

The union's national office has also decided to file a complaint with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNESCO in order to press for the legitimate and just demands of all workers in the sector. The office has stated that it intends to confront the Ministry of Education and its stubbornness by putting in place the necessary arrangements to ensure that all future protests are successful. 

Following a meeting held on Thursday, December 3, 2020, the union's national office issued a statement stating the following:

1.     Commends all workers in the sector for successfully completing the general strike and regional and local protest rallies.

2.     Stresses that the situation in national education requires the opening of an urgent sectoral dialogue to respond to workers' demands.

3.     Affirms its intention to confront the stubbornness of the supervisory ministry, which continues to target the right to optional promotion by blocking all decrees concerning it. To this end, the Board has decided the following:

– To lodge a complaint with the ILO and UNESCO concerning the repression of trade union freedoms and the illegal deductions from strikers' wages.

– Oppose the deduction of points on the basis of which optional promotion for strikers is counted. This opposition can go as far as filing a complaint against the Ministry.

– Call on all education representatives on the central binary committees to oppose all motions to deduct points from optional promotion and not to sign them.

– Organise a national sit-in in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Rabat on a date to be set later.

– Organise a meeting with the regional secretaries of the unions to put in place the necessary arrangements for the success of all future protests.

The national office has also called on all workers in the education sector to rally around the National Education Union of the CDT to protect their demands, their dignity and the public school.