Morocco – The Moroccan parliament has passed a law granting retirement to self-employed workers, a law that the authorities have promised to pass 17 years ago. . The Moroccan House of Representatives voted on the bill, which establishes a system of retirement for independent workers, which is expected to include 5 million workers and 11 million rights holders. The Minister of Employment and Professional Integration, Mohammad Yatim, stressed that this law aims to support the social protection system in Morocco, especially for self-employed workers and professionals, who do not benefit from any coverage. The system is based on the participation of all persons covered by it, where they make contributions to the pension system and health coverage system, and their contributions will be calculated on the basis of gross income, according to the target occupational group. Persons covered by the system are supposed to retire at the age of 65, but they can retire at the age of 60 and give them the possibility of delaying retirement to 75 years. MP Mustafa al-Shennawi, of the Democratic Left Federation, said that voting on the bill represents the end of a long battle for the benefit of all self-employed and unpaid professional groups who engage in professional retirement. Mohammed al-Haqash, who was a member of the Technical Committee on Retirement, argued that the debate on health coverage and retirement for self-employed and freelance workers was initially intended to attract lawyers, doctors and engineers before moving on to other professions. Social coverage in the private sector remained substandard, with the National Social Security Fund exceeding three million, compared to 11 million workers and employees, according to the High Commissioner for Planning.
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