Labor organization calls for 20% increase in minimum wage amid inflation

The government signed a “social agreement” to raise the minimum wage by 10% which will be adopted this month, but with the country’s high inflation rate, that increase doesn’t appear to be enough for some organizations.

The Democratic Labor Organization calls on the government to “increase the wages of all employees, workers, and retirees, by rates of no less than 20 percent in order to counter the high rate of inflation and the continuous decline in the purchasing power of the working class.”

The organization linked the call to “the continuation of the high rate of inflation, which reached a record level for decades, and the continued slowdown in growth, which may reach less than 1.5 percent in 2022, with a budget deficit of more than 16.60 billion dirhams.”

“The exacerbation of potential economic risks that could result in huge social effects, and in the face of a critical debt crisis in exchange for limited reserves,” the same union organization warned, in a statement to its executive office, reached by Hespress AR.

It also called for creating job opportunities for unemployed youth graduates of universities and higher and technical institutes.

They propose “the adoption of the civil service system for unemployed graduates paid for, according to new foundations that lead to direct integration after one or two years of gaining experience and knowledge,” instead of the government program.
The current “opportunity”, which the union itself described as a “patchwork project”.

The communication considered that “the high cost of living affected the daily sustenance of the vast majority of Moroccan families at the gates of school and university entry, and the huge expenses that Moroccan families incur to educate their children.”

It added as well “the repercussions of the Corona pandemic and drought from the increasing number of citizens who suffer from food insecurity due to a significant increase.”

The Democratic Labor Organization recorded that this “inevitably leads to social instability and migration from the deserts to the cities due to the deterioration of living conditions and the expansion of social disparities, disparities, and inequality.”

They’re also calling for “the speedy download of the unified social record in accordance with transparent and fair standards to provide direct social support to poor and needy families and those with disabilities.”

The organization aims to facilitate and encourage the process of joining the National Social Security Fund and the National Fund for Social Reserve Organizations, reviewing outdated laws regulating them and bringing them into line with the requirements of a framework law for social protection.