Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - REPORT_NO241, November 1985

1. 407. The Local Federation of Trade Unions of Casablanca, affiliated to the Moroccan Federation of Labour, submitted a complaint of violations of freedom of association in Morocco in a communication dated 3 April 1984. It sent additional information in support of its complaint in a communication of 9 May 1984. The Government transmitted its observations on the case in a letter of 13 May 1985, which reached the ILO when the Committee was in session.
2. 408. Morocco has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No.87); it has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No.98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 409. The allegations of the complainant refer to the dismissal of 20 workers, four of whom were trade union and staff delegates whom the complainant mentions by name, following two strikes in support of workers' claims in January and February 1984, lasting 48 hours and 24 hours respectively, and to the hiring of workers to replace the strikers at the Société marocaine des compteurs Vincent at Mohammedia.
2. 410. According to the complainants, following the presentation of a statement of claims by the workers, the management wished to compel them to work overtime on Saturday and Sunday. When the workers refused because they wished their demands to be met first, the management decreed a reduction in working time and an increase in the pace of production for certain departments. According to the complainant, these contradictory measures showed that the management was willing to resort to all kinds of pressure and diversionary manoeuvres to impede the workers' legitimate action in support of their claims.
3. 411. The trade union leaders then approached the authorities, and meetings were held with the delegate from the Ministry of Labour on 30 January 1984, with the first deputy governor of the town of Mohammedia on 6 February 1984, and with the governor himself on 23 February and 23 April 1984. These approaches were unsuccessful, since the authorities were unable to induce the directors of the Société marocaine des compteurs Vincent to accept the need to reverse their decision on the dismissals and to open negotiations on the workers' demands.
4. 412. The complainant organisation pointed out that the dismissal of trade union delegates was prohibited by Moroccan law and took exception to the recruitment of new workers while the strike was in progress.

B. The Government's reply

1. 413. According to the Government the dispute between Compteurs Vincent and the Local Federation of Trade Unions of Casablanca, affiliated to the Moroccan Federation of Labour, has been settled thanks to the efforts of the Casablanca Labour Inspectorate.
2. 414. Eight of the dismissed workers, including two trade union delegates, have been reinstated in their employment. The remaining workers refused compensation for their dismissal from the undertaking and lodged an appeal with the court on 27 November 1984; however, the management of the undertaking stated that the dispute in question arose from demands by the staff which it was unable to satisfy owing to financial difficulties. The Government states that it will communicate any decision taken by the court on this case.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 415. The Committee notes that allegations have once again been made concerning reprisals by an employer against workers involved in a labour dispute. The Committee recalls that it has already had to examine a number of cases of this kind concerning Morocco, and even recently in the Compteurs Vincent undertaking. (See 230th Report, Case No. 1116 (Morocco), paras. 72 and 78 approved by the Governing Body in November 1983.)
2. 416. While noting that the Government has supplied certain information on the measures taken to reinstate the eight workers as a result of the intervention of the labour inspectorate, the Committee observes that, as stated by the Government itself, the other workers dismissed in this case (12 according to the complainants) lodged appeals with the court on 27 November 1984.
3. 417. The Committee recalls that it is often called upon to examine allegations against the Government of Morocco concerning dismissals on anti-union grounds and the hiring of workers to replace strikers. (See in particular 208th Report, Case No. 1017, paras. 392 to 403; 214th Report, Cases Nos. 992 and 1018, paras. 80 to 92; 230th Report, Case No. 1116, paras. 65 to 84; and 239th Report, Case No. 1201, paras. 110 to 123.)
4. 418. The Committee must therefore once again draw the attention of the Government to the need for strengthening protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and must again stress that the current provisions of Moroccan legislation are inadequate. It therefore insists on the need to adopt more specific legal provisions than those that already exist in order to guarantee workers adequate protection, possibly accompanied by penalties against employers in the event of discrimination in respect of employment.
5. 419. The Committee also wishes to point out that the hiring of workers to break a strike in a sector like that of Compteurs Vincent, which cannot be regarded as an essential sector in the strict sense of the term and hence one in which strikes might be forbidden, constitutes a serious violation of freedom of association.
6. 420. In these circumstances the Committee trusts that the Government will keep it informed of the outcome of the appeals lodged by the persons concerned.