Union denounces Ministry’s decision to only allow vaccinated public servants into Moroccan administrations

The Trade Union Confederation of Employees, affiliated with the Moroccan Labor Confederation, is denouncing the government’s decision to force public servants to present valid vaccine passes before entering their workplace.

The union said “the decision is not based on any legislative law,” and warned that “its application will lead to the expulsion of refusing employees from the public service network.”

The union, which represents public sector employees, stated in a press release that “this approach, which the government intends to implement, violates the general statute of the public service.”

The union’s statement comes after the issuance of a memorandum by the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform this week, paving the way to prevent unvaccinated employees from entering their workplaces.

The union indicated that “this memorandum will open the way to prevent arbitrary access to workplaces and to illegal measures under the pretext of deliberate interruption of work that may reach deductions from wages.”

The union stressed that “vaccinating against COVID-19 is purely optional,” and therefore “refuses to consider the unvaccinated as a source of danger to public health within public facilities, given that all studies and scientific reports issued by the competent bodies did not prove these allegations.”

The union directed its demands to “the head of government to reconsider Article Three of the decree-law that frames the state of health emergency, taking into account the protection of public health and respect for individual and public freedoms.”

Article 3 of Decree-Law No. 2.20.292 indicates that the government may issue measures required by a state of health emergency that may outweigh the legislative and regulatory provisions in force.

The position of the Employees Union follows the announcement of new tightening measures at the level of public administrations.

It is expected that in the coming days, employees will be subject to penalties such as wage deductions, which was confirmed by a work memorandum issued by the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.

The document calls on all ministry employees who have not yet been vaccinated to rush to take their first, second or third doses, giving them a 7-day deadline.

The memo stated that all employees of the ministry who did not comply with these procedures, after the expiry of the seven-day period, will be prevented from entering the workplace, and they are considered in the event of deliberate interruption of work.