Interim Report - REPORT_NO328, June 2002

1. 477. The complaint in this case is contained in communications from the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT) dated 3 and 28 December 2001.
2. 478. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 5 February 2002.
3. 479. Morocco has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); however, it has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).

A. The complainant’s allegations

1. 480. In a communication dated 3 December 2001, the CDT explains that the Caisse nationale du Crédit agricole (CNCA) is a public establishment governed by Act No. 1-60-106 of 4 December 1961, whose board of directors consists of representatives of the management and of farmers. Its core business is financing agriculture and promoting rural development. The CNCA employs some 3,500 staff, and the CDT is the only trade union in the enterprise. Following trade union elections in January 2001, a 29-member executive committee was elected and recognized by the CNCA management.
2. 481. The CDT continues with an account of the emergence of the labour dispute in the CNCA. On 6 April 2001, at the first meeting between the trade union and the CNCA management, the latter put forward a draft collective agreement which fell short of the workers’ demands and was therefore not approved by the staff. On Thursday, 12 April 2001, the trade union called a strike. The CDT alleges that on the following day, 13 April, 34 temporary workers were expelled or suspended for having participated in the strike on 12 April. Among these 34 workers were two members of the trade union executive committee, Mr. Karim Rachid and Mr. Aziz Youssef. In addition, Mr. Chatri Abdelkader, another member of the trade union committee, was allegedly suspended following fabricated disciplinary proceedings against him. On 18 April, the executive committee declared a 48-hour strike, which was postponed after management promised to negotiate. However, the meeting that was held failed to produce a favourable outcome, as management refused to discuss the case of the 34 expelled and suspended workers. Following management’s refusal to negotiate, another 48-hour strike was held on 13 and 14 June 2001.
3. 482. Lastly, the CDT alleges that, following these strikes, a number of sanctions were imposed on the striking workers, including wrongful transfers of the following trade union officers: Mr. Kamar Bensalem, Mr. Faiçal Balafrej, Mr. Jawad El Amrani, Mr. Jamal Boudina, Mr. Ahmed Arrout, Mr. Abdessamad Mammad, Mr. Mustapha Hafidi, Mr. Mustapha Kounech, Mr. Mahjoube Ennaji, Mr. Said Banjamae, Mr. Lahcem Chkha, Ms. Naja Mimouni and Ms. Ouafae Chmaou. The CDT asserts that both its own executive committee and the executive committee of the CNCA staff made every effort to renew dialogue with management, in particular by sending numerous letters to senior CNCA managers and the Ministry of Agriculture, but to no avail.
4. 483. In a subsequent communication dated 28 December 2001, the CDT states that Mr. Chatri Abdelkader, a member of the trade union executive committee who was initially suspended on 13 April 2001, was definitively dismissed from the CNCA on 7 December 2001. Moreover, Mr. Kamar Bensalem, General Secretary of the executive committee, was summoned to the police station on 25 December 2001 following a complaint brought by the CNCA management accusing him of having called an illegal strike, on the pretext that the strike had not been approved by the National Union of Bank Employees (SNB).

B. The Government’s reply

1. 484. In its communication dated 5 February 2002, the Government forwarded the reply of the Caisse nationale du Crédit agricole concerning the CDT’s complaint. Firstly, the representatives of the CNCA state that all the decisions it has taken are in conformity with the laws and regulations in force and that they are surprised at the complainant’s allegations. The CNCA asserts that it is being asked to negotiate with so-called staff representatives (Mr. Kamar Bensalem and Mr. Faiçal Balafrej), whereas in fact these two individuals had been explicitly expelled by the CDT. In a communication from the CDT to the CNCA dated 25 April 2001, the CDT states that "these two persons are not members of the National Union of Bank Employees/Democratic Confederation of Labour (SNB/CDT), that they do not have legal representative status and that any action they may undertake does not involve any commitment on the part of the trade union to anything" (a copy of this letter is attached to the Government’s reply).
2. 485. The CNCA states further that, in a letter dated 15 May 2001 to the executive committee of the CDT, it denounced all the action taken by these persons who were excluded from membership of the CDT, and in particular their decision to declare a strike just before meeting with the CNCA management, as well as their denunciation of an agreement concluded the day before in the presence of their General Secretary. In this connection, the CNCA attaches a copy of a press release issued by the SNB/CDT criticizing the call for a strike sent out on SNB/CDT letterhead stationery and confirming that Mr. Kamar Bensalem, who signed it was no longer a member of the SNB. Lastly, the CNCA affirms its willingness to pursue dialogue with all of the democratically elected staff representatives and states that it does not understand the attitude of the CDT officials in this case.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 486. The Committee observes that this case concerns a dispute in the Caisse nationale du Crédit agricole (CNCA) and, in particular, allegations relating to various sanctions imposed on workers following a strike, transfers of trade union officers and refusal to engage in social dialogue. At the outset, the Committee notes with regret that the Government, through the reply it obtained from the CNCA, has only provided very incomplete observations on the allegations put forward in the complaint.
2. 487. The Committee notes that following trade union elections in the CNCA in January 2001, a 29-member executive committee was elected and recognized by the CNCA management. The Committee notes that representatives of the trade union and the CNCA management met for the first time on 6 April 2001, then, following a 24-hour strike held on 12 April, the parties met again on 18 April. According to the complainant, these meetings failed to produce a favourable outcome with regard to the demands that had been put forward. The Committee nonetheless observes that it is difficult to conclude that there has been a refusal or absence of social dialogue, given that the parties met twice to negotiate in April 2001. Nonetheless, the Committee recalls the importance for both employers and trade unions to bargain in good faith and make every effort to reach an agreement, as genuine and constructive negotiations are necessary components to establish and maintain a relationship of confidence between the parties.
3. 488. As regards the strike on 12 April 2001, the Committee notes that, according to the complainant, 34 CNCA employees, including two members of the trade union executive committee (Mr. Karim Rachid and Mr. Aziz Youssef), were expelled or suspended for having participated in this strike. Moreover, following the strike held on 13 and 14 June 2001, the complainant alleges that a large number of trade union officers were wrongfully transferred. The complainant alleges further that Mr. Chatri Abdelkader, a member of the CNCA trade union executive committee, who was suspended on 13 April 2001, was definitively dismissed from the CNCA. The Committee notes that neither the Government nor the CNCA have provided information on all of these allegations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to send, without delay, detailed information on all the allegations and in particular on the persons mentioned by the complainant as having been victims of acts of anti-union discrimination following their participation in the strikes of 12 April and 13 and 14 June 2001.
4. 489. As regards the case of Mr. Kamar Bensalem, who, according to the complainant is General Secretary of the trade union executive committee of the CNCA, the Committee observes that this aspect of the case appears to raise a number of questions. The Committee notes that, according to a communication from the CDT to the CNCA dated 25 April 2001 (which the Government attaches to its reply), the CDT points out that Mr. Kamar Bensalem and Mr. Faiçal Belafrej are not members of the National Union of Bank Employees/CDT, that they do not have legal representative status and that any action they may undertake does not involve any commitment on the part of the trade union. In addition, a copy of a press release issued by the SNB/CDT (also enclosed with the Government’s reply) denounces the call to strike sent out by Mr. Kamar Bensalem and confirms that the latter is not a member of the National Union of Bank Employees. However, the complainant does not refer in its complaint to these communications or their implications. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the complainant to provide, without delay, additional information on the status in the SNB/CDT of Mr. Kamar Bensalem and Mr. Faiçal Belafrej, as the latter appears to have played an important role in the labour dispute in the CNCA.