May 1: Dialogue at all costs

When the 1^is May, historic and international day of mobilization of workers for their rights, coincides with a Monday, it is karma that seems to manifest itself. If this year again, for many of our fellow citizens, this 1^is May will be an opportunity to take advantage of a long weekend, yet this day brings with it oh so tense challenges in the face of a catastrophic economic situation for Moroccan workers.

These are, blow after blow, several layers of difficulties that have accumulated in recent years. The causes having consequences, from the pandemic from which the poorest of the population have not recovered, to the structural drought coupled with the rise in food prices, through the explosion of the hydrocarbon budget for households , no doubt possible, the social cocotte is under unparalleled pressure.

So what do the forces do in the presence of what is traditionally called social dialogue, between the representatives of the workers, those of the employers and the State through its Government?

On the side of the unions, a single watchword and a common objective, to obtain a general increase in wages, as promised by the Executive last September. The reasoning is simple, faced with installed inflation, wages must follow. Except that the deterioration of the purchasing power of Moroccan households is also part of a period of weak growth and the Government does not have a great depth of pockets in this context, the snake is biting its tail.

But, as its name suggests, the ongoing process of Social Dialogue has the merit of existing and bringing together the social partners around the table on a regular basis. More or less therefore, the discussions started will bear fruit in a logic of consensus. As proof, the Government, eagerly awaited in all logic and in the eye of the storm on this subject, seems to have at heart to keep the already strong commitments of the 1^is last May. The promulgation of the Labor Code, the law relating to the exercise of the Right to Strike, numerous sectoral supports, are concrete advances made in a short time. Similarly, the new national vision and strategy for Tourism, which won the support of the players in the sector, concerns a large section of Moroccan workers. SIAM, which is making its big comeback next week, will also certainly highlight the challenges taken up by Morocco in the vital field of agriculture and of which the food security of our fellow citizens is the stated objective.

Structurally, things are also changing and the Government’s social policy, strongly driven by King Mohammed VI, is taking more and more shape. Thus, the generalization of the AMO or the Unified Social Income are also substantive responses to the increase in the cost of living by protecting the poorest. This is what the IMF’s latest report on Morocco for the current month highlights, which salutes the authorities’ continuous efforts to structurally address the country’s social challenges.

Ultimately, it is certainly the question of pension reform that will be the next major social project and the occasion for a major national debate. The institutionalization of Social Dialogue is an essential prerequisite if we wish to avoid a long and painful showdown between the forces representing the workers and their employer and state interlocutors. Which will not prevent lily of the valley from being out this 1^is May.

Zouhair Yata

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