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Engineers Unite in Nationwide Strike, Rallying for Reforms and Dialogue

Monday 20 May 2024 - 18:05

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The echoes of engineers' demands reverberate across Morocco as the Union nationale des ingénieurs marocains (UNIM) announces a nationwide strike and a mass demonstration before the Parliament on Tuesday, May 21st. This escalation follows the UNIM's condemnation of the government's inaction regarding their grievances, chiefly the establishment of a new status for the corps of inter-ministerial engineers.

The Casablanca branch of the UNIM has urged all engineers in the region to participate in the general strike and the scheduled protest. The rally is set to commence at 11 a.m. in front of the Parliament's headquarters, as stated in the Union's communiqué.

The engineers' mobilization began with a demonstration outside the Parliament on April 25th, followed by a general strike on May 9th. The UNIM has vehemently criticized the lack of official dialogue with the authorities to find solutions to the various challenges facing the profession. According to the UNIM, this governmental inertia could lead to an "unprecedented crisis for the national engineering sector."

The Union maintains that engineers "will continue to protest due to the absence of dialogue on engineers' issues." Furthermore, the UNIM firmly opposes the proposed pension reforms, considering "they reduce acquired rights and attempt to resolve the crisis of these systems at the expense of workers."

Lamenting "the government's sluggishness in opening an official dialogue [with the UNIM] on demands to find solutions to the various engineering problems," the engineers are calling for comprehensive and inclusive reforms. These reforms should begin with the settlement of the state's debts towards the civil pension system, partial coverage of the financial deficit by the public treasury, and the improvement of the financial profitability of deposits, akin to the collective retirement allocation scheme.

They also insist on respecting the principle of contribution, where the employee covers one-third of the contributions and the employer covers two-thirds, as practiced in other retirement systems. Additionally, they categorically reject "any restrictive draft law on strikes [which] aims to consecrate repression and limit the right to strike."

As the strike and rally unfold, the nation's attention will be fixated on the engineers' unified stand, their calls for comprehensive reforms, and the urgency for constructive dialogue to address the pressing concerns within their esteemed profession.