Government officially raises minimum wage by 10%

The Government approved on Thursday a decision to raise the minimum wage in the private sector by 10 percent, in line with an agreement signed in May with labor unions.

A 5% increase will be implemented starting from this September, and another 5% in September 2023.

Speaking to the government council, Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch said the social dialogue in Morocco has become a strategic option to build strong partnerships with unions and workers..

The signed agreement provides for a 10% increase in the minimum wage for industry, trade, and services sectors that will be divided over two years: 5% in September 2022, then 5% in September 2023.

The agreement also provides for the gradual unification of the legal minimum wage between the industry, trade, liberal professions, and agricultural sectors.

A minimum wage in the public sector should reach 3,500 dirhams net, a standard for the administrative and technical assistants, and the re-evaluation of the promotion in grade from 33% to 36%.

The agreement was signed with the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies (CGEM) and three trade union federations, the most representative of which are the Moroccan Trade Unions (UMT), the Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions (CDT), and the General Trade Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM), but the National Trade Union of Morocco (UNTM) did not sign, according to the same source.

The deal came as the war in Ukraine increased food and fuel prices as well as the cost of such imports. The crisis has also been exacerbated by drought, which has hit Morocco hard which relies on agriculture, the Kingdom’s main industry, which accounts for about 14 percent of GDP.