Morocco among 43 countries regularly violating labor rights, says 2025 Global Rights Index

Morocco is among 43 nations where violations of labor rights happen regularly, according to the 2025 Global Rights Index by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 

According to the survey, Morocco has fallen behind on its promises to protect the freedom of unions and the right to strike.

The report spotlighted controversial strike law passed by the government in late December 2024. The law was pushed through without consulting unions, which many say is a direct attack on workers’ rights. 

Since January 2025, Morocco’s biggest unions, the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT) and the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), have led nationwide protests against the law, calling it a clear assault on union freedoms.

Despite public backlash, Morocco’s Constitutional Court upheld the law, fueling even more anger. 

According to the report, the law narrowly defines strikes, allows courts to interfere in union matters, and even permits forced work during strikes in some cases, something critics say violates the country’s own constitution.

Union rights in Morocco are supposed to be protected by law, but many public workers, including judges and security forces, are banned from joining unions. 

Farm and domestic workers aren’t protected by labor laws, making it almost impossible for them to organize.

There are also bureaucratic roadblocks. For example, Moroccan law demands that a union’s members must all work in the same profession. The public prosecutor can shut down any union that doesn’t follow this rule. 

These restrictions put constant pressure on unions and threaten their very existence, says the report. 

The government has also used police force against peaceful labor protests. In 2025, teachers protesting short-term contracts and poor working conditions were violently dispersed with water cannons and batons.

Even when unions are recognized, collective bargaining rights are hard to exercise. The law says a union needs to represent at least 35% of workers in a workplace to negotiate. 

That’s difficult to achieve in a country where labor unions are often divided and under pressure. Some groups, like prison guards and forest rangers, are not allowed to bargain at all.

Laws like Article 288 of the Penal Code can land protestors in jail for up to two years for participating in or encouraging an illegal strike. 

Other rules allow the state to dissolve unions for vague reasons, like not following their stated goals, giving authorities a wide open door to shut down dissent.

This report shows that Morocco is not alone. A staggering 87% of countries worldwide saw limits or bans on strikes in 2025, the highest number since the index began in 2014.

The report says this is part of a worrying global trend where labor unions are being painted as threats to public order or accused of serving foreign interests.