Airport Workers Unite for Protest in Rabat
Workers at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca, affiliated with the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT), are organizing a protest in front of the Ministry of Economic Integration, Small Enterprises, Employment, and Skills in Rabat. This event is scheduled for the upcoming Friday, highlighting the growing unrest among airport employees.
These workers, representing various unions including the National Unified Office of Airport Technicians, the National Unified Office of Managers and Employees of the National Airports Office, and the National Unified Office of Airport Firefighters, have resolved to escalate their actions in response to the lack of social dialogue from the airport management. In a letter addressed to Minister Younes Skouri, which was reviewed by Hespress, the unions expressed their frustration over the administration's failure to fulfill several commitments outlined in previously signed agreements. Chief among these is the agreement made at the Ministry on January 9, 2023, many of whose key provisions remain unresolved to this day.
The unions emphasized their discontent with the administration's disregard for its official obligations, arguing that such actions contribute to a growing social tension within the organization, stemming from the persistent neglect of social dialogue and the failure to honor established agreements. Furthermore, the unions criticized the management for implementing significant financial increases benefiting only a small segment of employees while excluding the majority from these benefits, which starkly contradicts principles of wage fairness and social equity.
Fouad El Khatabi, the national secretary for the National Office of Airport Employees, stated that the planned protest in front of the Ministry of Employment is part of previously outlined actions from April. He condemned the ongoing delay tactics employed by the National Airports Office in implementing the provisions of the collective agreements, particularly the one signed on January 9, 2023, under the supervision of the Ministry of Employment.
El Khatabi revealed that the employees and technical staff were taken aback by the management's decision to grant wage increases to a specific group while excluding others. He denounced this move as a continuation of the unjust policy that exacerbates class and financial disparities among workers, forgetting that the prosperity and development of the institution are the results of collective efforts and that everyone deserves a fair share of its benefits.
Moreover, the union representative condemned what he described as the suspicious secrecy enforced by the management regarding the project to transform the National Airports Office into a joint-stock company. He criticized the sidelining of human capital and the treatment of workers as peripheral elements, along with the exclusion of social partners by neglecting the legitimate representatives of the workers and failing to involve them in discussions about this critical transition.
Attempts to reach the National Airports Office's management for comment on this escalating situation were unsuccessful.
As reported by hespress.com.
