Interim Report - Report No 12, 1954

Case No 16 (France) - Complaint date: 30-JUL-51 - Closed

1. 292. At its First Session (January 1952) the Committee had before it four complaints transmitted to the I.L.O by the Economic and Social Council at its 13th Session. These complaints were presented respectively by the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, the Moroccan Confederation of Railway Trade Unions, the World Federation of Trade Unions and the Local Federation of Unions (Casablanca). At the same time the Committee had before it observations on these complaints presented by the French Government. The Committee requested the French Government for certain further information.
2. 293. At its Second Session (March 1952) the Committee, in response to the wish expressed by the French Government, which had informed the Committee that the information requested was in course of being assembled, adjourned its examination of the case to a later session.
3. 294. At its Third Session (May 1952) the Committee decided to request the French Government for certain further information before it formulated its recommendations to the Governing Body.
4. 295. At its Fourth Session (December 1952) the Committee, having received several new complaints, either transmitted to the I.L.O by the Economic and Social Council at its 14th Session, or addressed directly to the I.L.O, presented respectively by the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, the Moroccan Confederation of Railway Trade Unions, the Central Committee of the Railway Workers' Union of the Free German Trade Union Federation, the General Confederation of Labour (Meknès), the French National Federation of P.T.T. Workers (Paris) and the Moroccan Mineworkers' Federation (Casablanca), decided to adjourn its examination of the case to a later session.
5. 296. At its Fifth Session (February 1953) the Committee had before it a complaint presented by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. After having taken note of a statement made by the representative of the French Government in which lie informed the Committee that negotiations were pending with regard to the preparation of new trade union legislation in Morocco, the Committee decided once again to postpone its examination of the case.
6. 297. At its Sixth Session (June 1953) the Committee had before it seven further complaints transmitted to the I.L.O by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Observing that three of these complaints contained no new elements with respect to allegations which had already been brought to the notice of the French Government the Committee considered that there was no reason for them to be communicated to the Government. The four other complaints, which were transmitted to the French Government for its observations, were presented respectively by the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, the General Confederation of Labour (Rabat), the Meknès Railway Workers' Union and the Algerian Railway Workers' Federation.
7. 298. At the same session the Committee, having taken note of a communication from the French Government in which the latter informed the Committee, first, that discussions were taking place with H.M the Sultan of Morocco on the question of new trade union legislation, and, secondly, that the French Resident-General in Morocco had already taken certain measures to encourage the establishment in undertakings of bodies freely elected by Moroccan wage earners for the purpose of representing their interests in their relations with the managements, expressed the wish that it might be kept informed of subsequent developments and also expressed the hope that the French Government would take steps with a view to the application in Morocco of the same principles with regard to freedom of association as it had put into application in other less developed territories under its administration.
8. 299. At its Seventh Session (November 1953) the Committee had before it a complaint from the World Federation of Trade Unions and a complaint from the Trade Unions International of Postal, Telegraph, Telephone and Radio Workers. The facts alleged in the latter complaint having already been referred to in other complaints the Committee decided that it would formulate its conclusions thereon when it resumed its examination of the case as a whole. The Committee also decided to adjourn the examination of the case until its Eighth Session, in order to enable the French Government to present its observations on the complaints which had been communicated to it after the Sixth Session of the Committee.

B. Analysis of the Complaints

1. 300. In view of the fact that the various complaints which have been presented are supplementary to one another, it appears preferable, in the interests of clarity, to analyse them together rather than separately and to deal in succession with the principal allegations contained in them. These allegations may be divided into three main categories according as they refer to: (a) arbitrary measures taken against trade union officials and repression of movements in favour of social demands; (b) restrictions placed on the holding of trade union meetings; and (c) the non-recognition of the trade union rights of Moroccan workers.
   • Allegations relating to Arbitrary Measures Taken against Trade Union Officials and to the Repression of Movements in Favour of Social Demands
2. 301. In the first group of complaints transmitted to the I.L.O by the Economic and Social Council at its 13th Session it was alleged that many of the union leaders had been imprisoned or expelled because of their activities on behalf of the Moroccan people. In many cases they had been prohibited from entering one region or another, often even their region of origin. They were subject to police surveillance. Militant trade unionists coming from France or elsewhere had been treated in the same way.
3. 302. The complainants referred in particular to the following cases: Mr. A. Leroy, Secretary of the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, had been expelled; Mr. Bouhamida, Secretary of the Miners' Trade Union of Djérada, had been sentenced to penal servitude; Mr. Fehrat Mohamed, Secretary of the Local Union of Safi, had been exiled and sentenced to two years' imprisonment; Messrs. Théodore (of Safi), D. Jésus (of Port Lyautey), Allal (of Djérada), Ouali (of Djérada), Carnicelli (of Casablanca), Germain Ayache (of Casablanca), Alphonse Alloccio, General Secretary of the Lighting Industry Federation, etc., had been expelled.
4. 303. The complaints presented since July 1951 also contain a series of allegations of the same kind. They refer, in particular, to the following principal alleged facts.
5. 304. In July 1951 four workers' representatives of the Compagnie Sucrière Marocaine of Casablanca were dismissed.
6. 305. In November 1951, immediately prior to a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Moroccan Railway Workers' Federation, Mr. Mahjoub ben Hadj-Seddik, General Secretary of that organisation, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
7. 306. In January 1952 Mr. René Toussaint, General Secretary of the Meknès Local Union, who had already been arrested on several occasions during 1951, was deported from Morocco. At the same time Mr. Mahmoun Alaoui, a member of the Executive of the Moroccan Postal Workers' Federation, was arbitrarily imprisoned.
8. 307. In March 1952 three workers at the pilotage station at the port of Casablanca, which did not even deliver work cards to its workers, were dismissed. Dismissals also took place at the Valteint Dyeing Company's undertakings and at the Gautier and Leroy bakeries.
9. 308. At the same time a movement in favour of demands of the sardine fishermen of the port of Safi, in which centre almost the whole of the workers are organised in the trade union movement, was violently repressed by the police. Some persons were killed and several injured, the police having fired on the workers when they were on their way to demand the liberation of trade union officials who had been arrested without reason.
10. 309. In April 1952 Mr. Maalen Driss, Secretary of the trade union branch organising the workers in the Huyghes shipyards, was dismissed, because the workers in those yards had presented a list of demands.
11. 310. In April 1952, following a strike at the Raffinerie Nouvelle du Maroc called by the workers with a view to obtaining satisfaction of demands submitted in July 1951, four trade union leaders were arrested by the police at their homes and 12 workers were dismissed.
12. 311. At the same time Mr. Mohamed Khaled, Secretary-General of the local union of trade unions of Meknès, was arbitrarily dismissed from his post and then ordered to take up residence under surveillance in South Morocco, in company with a second member of the Meknès local union, Mr. Mohamed Alami, Mr. Aomar Jdidi, an officer of the local union at Salé, was obliged to go to Inezgane, in the south. Mr. Henri Triquère, Secretary of the police officials' union, was also arbitrarily expelled.
13. 312. On 2 May 1952 two trade union officers who had participated in the trade union meeting held on 1 May in the Safi trade union hall were arrested and each sentenced to one year's imprisonment.
14. 313. Mass dismissals are continually being made in factories when the managements learn of the Constitution of a trade union organisation. On 4 May 1952 four old employees of the Compagnie Sucrière Marocaine in Casablanca were dismissed.
15. 314. During the strike at the S.C.I.F (August 1952) Mr. Salah el Meskini, Secretary of the Casablanca local trade union federation, was arrested because of his trade union activities.
16. 315. At the same time a strike broke out at the premises of the Société Africaine des Filatures et Tissages (S.A.F.T), Rabat, where the management refused to negotiate with the trade union delegates on the pretext that the right to organise of Moroccan workers is not recognised.
17. 316. Mr. Mohamed Berrich, Secretary of the Rabat local trade union federation, was arbitrarily arrested on 6 August 1952.
    • Allegations relating to Restrictions Placed on the Holding of Trade Union Meetings
18. 317. The celebration of May Day 1952 by the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco was prohibited by the Resident-General because the organisation " refused to sign a written undertaking that its demonstrations would be limited to strictly labour questions and would not touch on any political matters ".
19. 318. Police officers enforced their attendance at trade union meetings at Port Lyautey, Safi and Meknès, thus infringing the inviolability of trade union premises. The Dahir of 24 December 1936 provides that trade unions are free to act in concert in order to study and defend their interests and that trade union premises are not distrainable and are, therefore, inviolable. Moreover, the rules of the C.G.T stipulate that the trade union movement is self-administering at every level and decides upon its action in complete independence.
20. 319. In certain centres a request for previous authorisation is required for the holding of trade union meetings. On 7 November 1952 a railwaymen's trade union meeting, at which it was intended to discuss matters of a strictly occupational character, was prohibited at Meknès because no request for authorisation had been made in advance.
    • Allegations relating to the Non-Recognition of the Trade Union Rights of Moroccan Workers
21. 320. Trade union rights are denied to Moroccan workers. The fact that commercial and industrial wage earners in urban districts have been able to organise is due entirely to their struggle to bring about that condition. But the executive committees of their unions are not recognised by the authorities; the Executive of the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions, in particular, is not recognised by the High Administration, because it includes Moroccans who have been elected democratically by the congress.
22. 321. It is absolutely impossible for country workers, especially agricultural labourers, to form trade unions, on pain of imprisonment, extortions and persecution.
23. 322. The mining unions formed in 1946 were dissolved administratively.
24. 323. In its memorandum dated 14 March 1951 the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco alleges that, as the result of " indescribable pressure " exerted against the trade union movement, H.M the Sultan was forced to sign a " protocol of agreement " providing for legislation on the establishment of " non-political " Moroccan trade union rights, which would have meant the dissolution of the free trade union organisations and their replacement by administrative " trade unions " whose " leaders " would be appointed by the civil inspectors or the caids.
25. 324. In complaints presented later it is alleged that the drafts of legislation prepared by the French authorities on the trade union rights of Moroccans have been rejected by the Sultan because they maintained an excessive number of restrictions, whereas Moroccan workers, without distinction as to race or creed, demand freedom of association for all without exception and without any interference whatsoever.
26. 325. In this connection the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions furnished the following details in its complaint dated 27 January 1953.
27. 326. Since 1936 European workers residing in French Morocco have had the right to constitute trade union organisations by virtue of the Dahir of 24 December 1936 which accords to them and guarantees this right.
28. 327. A Dahir dated 24 June 1938 prohibited Moroccan workers from joining European trade unions or from forming unions of their own. This Dahir provided that persons contravening its provisions should be imprisoned and fined. It was repealed by the Dahir of 20 June 1950.
29. 328. A circular issued by the French Resident-General in Morocco on 29 May 1945 declares that Moroccan workers and salaried employees employed in modern industrial and commercial undertakings may be admitted in practice to the existing trade unions, that is, the European trade unions.
30. 329. On several occasions H.M the Sultan of Morocco has requested the French Government to prepare a Dahir according the right to organise fully to all Moroccan workers. He has presented this demand in notes addressed to the French Government and in his speeches from the Throne.
31. 330. In his speech from the Throne on 18 November 1950, H.M the Sultan of Morocco declared: " We rest in the firm hope that the aspirations of the working class with respect to their right to organise will be realised."
32. 331. In his speech from the Throne on 18 November 1952, H.M the Sultan of Morocco declared: " In the social field we have always insisted on the need to give consideration to the position of the working class, which deserves sympathy and attention, without distinction between wage earners in commerce, industry or agriculture. In fact, it is to the working class that we owe all the material achievements which are now to be observed. It is therefore only just that this class should be enabled to defend its interests by having accorded to it the right to establish trade unions with complete freedom of affiliation."
33. 332. While H.M the Sultan of Morocco, therefore, demands full organisational rights for all workers, the French Government has prepared the draft of a Dahir which would accord the right to organise to Moroccans engaged in industrial, commercial or professional occupations. This draft Dahir provides that the executive committees of unions and federations must consist equally of French and Moroccan members. The draft Dahir does not accord to Moroccan workers the right to constitute a Confederation or central trade union organisation.
34. 333. The legislation at present in force, therefore, does not authorise Moroccan workers to join trade unions of their own choosing. Moreover, they have no right to constitute a national central trade union organisation. Consequently, from the legal point of view, Moroccan workers do not at present enjoy the most elementary trade union rights, being unable, in particular, to join trade unions of their own choosing.
35. 334. The legislation contemplated by the French Government is far from representing any specific advance. It merely legalises existing practice. Thus, in the first place, agricultural workers are excluded from any trade union organisation. Further, workers in commerce and industry may not join trade unions of their own choosing; they are obliged to join the existing European trade union organisations. Moreover, they cannot elect their representatives m full freedom because they are obliged to select half of them from among the European and French workers. Finally, the right of Moroccan workers to constitute a central trade union organisation is not recognised. It is evident that all these proposed provisions constitute infringements of freedom of association. In fact, they are contrary to the principles which are generally accepted with respect to this matter and which, in particular, are embodied in Articles 2, 3 and 5 of the I.L.O. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, ratified by the French Government.
36. 335. According to the I.C.F.T.U it is impossible to justify the legislation in force or that contemplated by the Government by reference to the economic structure of Morocco or to the degree of development attained in that country. Thus, all workers, including agricultural workers, in French non-self-governing territories have enjoyed the right to organise since the promulgation of the Labour Code for overseas territories. Now most of these territories are less developed from the economic point of view than is Morocco.
37. 336. In conclusion, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions requested the Governing Body to ask the French Government to consent to the complaint's being referred to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association, or, as a secondary consideration, to recommend the French Government to prepare a new draft of a Dahir which would accord the right to exercise full trade union rights to Moroccan workers.

C. Analysis of the Replies

• Letter Dated 8 January 1952
  337. 337 In its observations forwarded by a letter of 8 January 1952 the French Government argued that the complaint, properly speaking, did not relate to the exercise of trade union rights. It declared that all the sentences pronounced against agitators, some of whom belonged to trade union groups, were pronounced pursuant to the provisions of common law in respect of offences and even crimes, as is evidenced by the judgments rendered in each particular case by the competent administrative or judicial authorities.
• Letter Dated 5 May 1952
  338. 338 The Committee having, at its first meeting (January 1952), requested the French Government for further information concerning, in particular, the nature of the offences or crimes with which those condemned were charged and with regard to the judgments rendered in their cases, the Government indicated, in its letter dated 5 May 1952, that, speaking generally, none of the militant trade unionists mentioned in the complaints had been punished by administrative measures by reason of their exercise of trade union rights within the legislation in force and that the measures taken against these persons were taken on account of actions manifestly inspired by groups of a purely political character and likely to give rise to disorder and to be dangerous to public order.
  339. 339 With regard to the different cases mentioned in the complaint, the French Government gave the following information:
  340. 340 Mr. Germain Ayache, a graduate of the university and a teacher in the high school of Casablanca, was both a member of the executive of a political party of the extreme left and Deputy General-Secretary of the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions. He never separated his trade union activities from his political activities. He distinguished himself by the violence of his political speeches. The manifold variety of his activities was particularly harmful to the performance of his educational functions. For a long time the Government, anxious to respect the principle of freedom of expression, treated him with tolerance, but, following his publication of a defamatory article, Mr. Ayache, in July 1950, was again placed under the orders of the metropolitan administration from which he had been detached.
  341. 341 Like Mr. Ayache, Mr. A. Leroy belonged to the executive of a political party of the extreme left. His trade union activities were merely a cover for his propagandist activities. The decision taken with regard to him does not cover the specific exercise of trade union rights in Moroccan territory.
  342. 342 Mr. Alphonse Alloccio, a militant member of a party of the extreme left and General Secretary of the Lighting Industry Federation of Morocco (C.G.T.), indulged, under the cover of trade union activities, in purely political activities. He was expelled from Moroccan territory for having disturbed public order in February 1950.
  343. 343 Mr. Dominique Jésus, of Portuguese origin, was also a militant member of a party of the extreme left and was excluded, in January 1949, for reasons unknown to the Government, from the executive of the Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Port Lyautey, of which he was the Secretary. He was expelled in October 1949.
  344. 344 Mr. Allal el Bachir was expelled for having called for a rebellion of a political character likely to entail serious disorder. He was not expelled by reason of the trade union activities which he could perform in his capacity as treasurer of the Moroccan Federation of Underground Workers' Unions.
  345. 345 The same was true with regard to Mr. Ouali ben Mohamed ben Ouali, Secretary of the Mineworkers' Union (C.G.T.) of Djérada, who, on different occasions, issued threats against French officials in the region.
  346. 346 Mr. Carnicelli, also a militant member of a political party of the extreme left carried on activities calculated to disturb public order. Moreover, he contravened the labour legislation in force in the Protectorate. He was sent back to the metropolitan territory in July 1950.
  347. 347 With regard to the man named Théodore (of Safi), the Government states that it has been impossible to identify any such person; no details relating to him could be obtained.
• Letter Dated 27 November 1952
  348. 348 The Committee having noted that the French Government's observations contained no reference to the allegation that native Moroccan workers were refused the full enjoyment of the right to organise, decided at its Third Session (May 1952) to request the French Government for further information on the trade union legislation at present in force or in course of being drafted with respect to both European and Moroccan workers and on the application of such legislation in practice.
  349. 349 In its letter dated 27 November 1952 the French Government transmitted to the Committee a note in which it gave the following information with regard to the situation in law and in fact of Moroccan trade unions:
  350. 350 Trade unionism developed in Morocco in the years following the First World War. The creation of native industries having entailed an increase in the working population, a Dahir, dated 24 December 1936, conferred a legal status on the European trade union organisations. This text, which today still regulates trade union rights in the French zone of the Moroccan Empire, accords to Europeans having carried on the same occupation for at least one year the right to form trade unions or industrial associations.
  351. 351 Economic expansion in Morocco at the close of the Second World War gave a new impulse to the trade union movement. Thus, on 29 May 1945, a circular issued by the Resident-General decided that Moroccan workers and salaried employees in industrial and commercial undertakings of a modern character might be admitted to trade unions in practice.
  352. 352 Moreover, a Dahir of 20 June 1950 repealed that dated 24 June 1938 (the latter, incidentally, was very rarely applied), which provided for sanctions to be imposed on those Moroccans who, contrary to the terms of the Dahir of 1936, joined European trade unions.
  353. 353 At this period the trade union movement developed particularly quickly and many Moroccans joined the occupational groups which were set up; since 1950 the union executives, especially in the case of the unions constituting the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco (affiliated to the C.G.T.), have consisted partly of Moroccans and in some cases have a Moroccan majority.
  354. 354 In order to transform this situation of fact into a situation in law, the Resident-General embarked upon the preparation of a Dahir under the provisions of which Moroccans carrying on industrial, commercial or liberal occupations would be accorded the right to form associations. The draft provided that the executives of unions and federations would consist of French and Moroccan members in equal numbers. This draft was the subject of study on the part of the Palace and the competent services of the Residency.
  355. 355 Generally speaking the French Government has regard, in this field, to the two following principles: the need to harmonise the growth of trade unionism with the tempo of the economic development of the country (which, at the present moment, excludes the possibility of extending the right to organise to the still inexperienced masses of population in the countryside), and the maintenance of trade unionism within the occupational sphere, in order to avoid the movement being exploited for political ends. The rule that there should be equal representation of French and Moroccan elements on the executives responds, in the view of French legislators, to the need to maintain the indispensable contact between the different elements in the labour world and to make sure that the young Moroccan trade unionism should benefit from an experience and cohesion which it has not yet been able to acquire. It is significant, in this connection, that Moroccan trade unionism has developed only in those undertakings in which Europeans and Moroccans work side by side, either in the public services or in the big industrial undertakings.
  356. 356 Pending the conclusion of an agreement between the Palace and the Residency concerning the draft Dahir the administration places no obstacle in the way of the free affiliation of Moroccan industrial and commercial workers to the existing trade unions. They have access to them under the same conditions as European workers and, for the most part, avail themselves of these facilities.
  357. 357 The three main French central trade union organisations (C.G.T, C.G.T. - F.O and C.F.T.C) are represented in Morocco. However, the C.G.T organisation has adopted the name of General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco (U.G.S.O.M). It maintains close ties with the French C.G.T but has affiliated directly with the World Federation of Trade Unions.
• Letter Dated 3 February 1953
  358. 358 A number of new complaints having been brought to its notice in July, August and September 1952, the French Government supplemented its previous replies by a letter dated 3 February 1953, containing the following information:
  359. 359 With regard to the strike which took place on 4 August 1952 at the S.C.I.F, in the suburbs of Casablanca, the Government maintains that the workers refused to evacuate the premises. The police were attacked with stones. Seven workers were arrested for acts of violence and duly sentenced by the Pasha at Casablanca, on 20 August 1952, to terms of from one to three months' imprisonment. The persons concerned were prosecuted solely on the ground of common law offences and not because of their trade union activities.
  360. 360 The trade union leader, Salah Meskini, was at the root of the aggressive attitude adopted by the workers during the strike which took place at the S.C.I.F undertaking. This trade union leader was the instigator of all the strikes which have been declared in Casablanca and has endowed them with a political aspect and a very marked anti-French character. Consequently, it was decided to banish Salah Meskini from his centre of activities and to order him to reside in Talsint. This measure was justified by the extreme tension which was then beginning to affect the labour world and which might have had unfortunate consequences in the following weeks. Since then the tension in the atmosphere has clearly eased.
  361. 361 The trade union leader, Mohamed Berrich, was arrested by the police for having been one of a group of persons who interfered with an outside broadcast organised on 5 August 1952 in Rabat by Radio Morocco. He was sentenced on 16 September by the Pasha at Rabat to two years' imprisonment, being prosecuted on the ground of the aforesaid disturbances and not because of his trade union activities. With him appeared 14 other accused who were sentenced to terms of imprisonment varying from 40 days to 15 months.
  362. 362 The S.A.F.T strike was never a total strike and ended on 20 September 1952 when complete agreement was reached between the parties.
  363. 363 The allegations made in general terms, such as the allegation relating to " the repressive policy pursued by the employers and the administration against the wage earners, and which are not accompanied by any further details, do not appear to call for any reply.
• Letter Dated 27 May 1953
  364. 364 The Committee on Freedom of Association having expressed a desire, at its Fifth Session (February 1953), to be kept informed of developments in the negotiations relating to the institution of new trade union legislation in Morocco, the French Government furnished the following information.
  365. 365 Workers in Morocco already benefit from the application of the provisions of the Dahirs of 24 December 1936 and 20 June 1950 and the trade union movement has developed tremendously in the French zone of Morocco.
  366. 366 The French Government considers, however, that the status of trade unionism in Morocco should be the subject of a general legislative text embodying the rights already guaranteed and extending them, having regard to the social and economic conditions prevailing in Morocco, to the greatest degree possible.
  367. 367 It was with this in mind that the Government laid before H.M the Sultan, in May 1948, a draft Dahir, which has not, however, received the necessary sanction of the Sovereign for it to be put into effect. A new draft is at present in course of preparation and, within the framework of the discussions which have taken place since February 1953, it will be submitted by the French Resident-General to H.M the Sultan as soon as other reforms presented by the French Government in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of 30 March 1912 have received assent. The French Government is not yet able to give the Committee on Freedom of Association information with regard to the draft. Moreover, it cannot specify the date on which the draft will enter into force, as this will depend on the out come of discussions which are taking place. France will make every effort to ensure that the new legislation is promulgated as quickly as possible.
  368. 368 The French Resident-General in Morocco has undertaken, during the first months of 1953 and in accordance with the conclusions of an Administrative Commission entrusted in May 1952 with the study of Moroccan labour problems and trade unionism, to encourage the institution, under the name of workers' " djemaas ", of bodies freely elected by Moroccan wage earners for the purpose of representing their occupational interests before the managements of undertakings. The workers' " djemaas " are not called upon to replace the trade unions but are intended to ensure within the undertaking, in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, the settlement of problems which arise between the employer and his staff. They are not endowed with legal personality and are not obligatory. It will be compulsory for delegates to be received once a month by employers' representatives and by the Civil Commissioner. The inspector for social questions must ensure that workers' delegates suffer no prejudice in their status as workers or in their personal situation by reason of the functions they assume in the " djemaas ". This new institution, adapted to the particular conditions of social and occupational life in Morocco, has so far been tried only as an experiment and has not been embodied in legislation. The experiment has already achieved remarkable results both with regard to the number of wage earners affected and with regard to the atmosphere in which the experiment has been conducted. This is the case, in particular, with regard to the " djemaas " set up in the phosphate mines at Kouribga, which constitute the most important mining area in Morocco.
• Letter Dated 18 November 1953
  369. 369 In reply to the letter by which the Director-General, on 14 July 1953, transmitted several new complaints to it, the French Government presented the following observations.
  370. 370 Developments in the political situation in Morocco have made it possible to put into effect important democratic reforms, some of which had for a long time been in suspense. Thus, the French Government was able to announce, m the communiqué issued after the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 15 September 1953, that it had begun the examination of the draft relating to trade union rights in Morocco and that it would continue its study of the question with a view to reaching a decision at an early date. On 22 October 1953 the draft was submitted to a committee meeting in Rabat and including persons chosen by the Government Council, representatives of trade unions and representatives of employers. When the preliminary work has been completed the French Government will finally draft the text of the proposed reform and will submit it to H.M the Sultan for his signature and seal.
  371. 371 With regard to the dismissal and arrest of trade union officers, it should be observed that the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, with great facility, describes as trade union officers workers who have never held any mandate whatsoever. The dismissals referred to were occasioned by one or other of the following reasons: abandonment of work, refusal to work, incitement to strikes or interference with the freedom to work; most of the workers dismissed have been reinstated and the others have benefited from all their rights (wages, paid holidays, family allowances, work certificates, and even notice when the reason for their dismissal in certain cases would have justified termination of their employment without notice).
  372. 372 The Government has given details concerning the principal specific cases mentioned by the complainants.
  373. 373 The dismissal, arrest or expulsion of agitators such as Mahjoub ben Hadj-Seddik, Aomar Jdidi, Salah el Meskini and Henri Triquère was occasioned by their subversive political activities. For example, Mahjoub ben Hadj-Seddik was sentenced to two years' imprisonment (a sentence later reduced by half) for having incited persons to commit murder in a speech made at a trade union meeting. Some of the persons sentenced and then pardoned were later among the organisers of the events in Casablanca in December 1952.
  374. 374 At the end of March 1952 a worker was dismissed without notice at the Valteint Dyeing Undertaking at Casablanca for having categorically refused to carry out the work assigned. Five of his mates ceased work in order to secure his reinstatement and presented demands of an occupational character (increase in wages, respect for the dignity of the worker, recognition of trade union rights). The employer regarded them as having resigned. Three of these workers were re-engaged on 1 April 1952, following an intervention by the labour inspector, and two others did not ask for reinstatement; hence, only one dismissal has been maintained and that on the ground of grave misconduct. This was the dismissal of the worker who was the cause of the incident which affected six workers in an undertaking employing 100.
  375. 375 The pilot station in the port of Casablanca is not required to deliver work cards to its employees because, when seamen are entered on crew lists, their service certificates as seamen take the place of the cards. While three dismissals took place at this station, it was because, extremists having decided to demonstrate throughout Morocco on the occasion of the anniversary of the Protectorate Treaty and strike orders having been circulated with the object of enabling the working population to participate in demonstrations on the public highway, some undertakings decided to dismiss those of their employees who did not turn up for work. The head of the pilot station decided on the dismissals in question as a disciplinary measure, because the persons concerned had abandoned their work without notice. The three dismissed seamen received all the sums to which they were entitled. Moreover, they still have access to the port.
  376. 376 The dismissals which took place at the Gautier and Leroy bakeries in Casablanca in March 1952 were also related to certain political manoeuvres. One of the dismissed workers was re-engaged a few days later.
  377. 377 At the Huyghes shipyards in Casablanca Mr. Maalem Driss was dismissed because, in the shipyard, he incited his comrades to cease work. In spite of his serious misconduct he was allowed to retain all his rights (previous notice, wages, paid holidays, work certificate). He was not the union secretary as the complainant alleges.
  378. 378 Contrary to the statement of the General Union of the Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, the trade union movement in Safi has never had a membership of more than 2,000 to 2,500 wage earners among the 25,000 workers. Two Moroccan trade unions were set up in 1951 with which the labour inspector had frequent and cordial contacts. The inspector has intervened in collective disputes and even succeeded in bringing about the reinstatement of certain workers who had been dismissed for having fomented a strike in their own interest. This proves that demands which have been justified have been considered and supported by the administrative authorities. The incident in question, on the other hand, had no connection with trade unionism but assumed the appearance of a riot, the demonstrators besieging and stoning the Pasha's Court in order to liberate a nonexistent prisoner. There is, therefore, no relationship between trade unionism and the political agitation stirred up on the occasion of the anniversary of the Protectorate Treaty. The fishing season opened two weeks later with an increased number of ships and a larger number of Moroccan crewmen, which is difficult to understand if " all the fishermen met with had been arrested and imprisoned ".
  379. 379 While 13 workers at the new refinery were dismissed, it was because they tried to prevent about 100 workers who wished to work from entering the factory.
  380. 380 The presence of an officer in a hall where a public meeting is held is expressly provided for in the Dahir of 26 March 1914. Previous authorisation is not normally required despite the provisions of the General Order of the Officer Commanding Moroccan Troops, dated 14 March 1945 (still applicable since Morocco is in a state of siege), making all public meetings subject to the authorisation of the military authorities. But when trade unions meet in premises which are not normally used by them (at Port Lyautey, for example), they must naturally ask for the premises to be made available to them. The legal texts in force authorise the regional authorities to prohibit any meeting which endangers public order.
  381. 381 The celebration of May Day 1952 was not prohibited and the whole population was able to take part. At Meknès, in particular, the C.G.T asked the regional authorities persistently whether the demonstration would be prohibited. It was not prohibited and the Communist leaders were obliged to demonstrate publicly that they represented practically nothing. Only two meetings could not take place, their organisers not having wished to undertake that political questions would not be discussed.
  382. 382 With regard to the communication dated 7 November 1952 from the Meknès Railway Workers' Union invoking French law and the rules of the C.G.T, the Government observes that the rules of the C.G.T cannot operate contrary to laws and, in particular, to laws regulating public order, and that French law is not applicable de plano in Morocco, where Dahirs are in force. Moreover, " the purpose of the prohibited meeting was not so harmless as the agenda made it appear, as was demonstrated the following month in Casablanca ". Finally, the complainant confuses the freedom from distraint of a building (a juridical and financial concept) with the inviolability of premises contained in such a building.

D. D. The Committee's conclusions

1. 383. It would appear from the various allegations made in the complaints, as well as from the observations thereon given by the French Government, that the numerous incidents referred to and also the trade union régime in force must be considered in the light of the troubled political situation at present prevailing in Morocco. The Committee recalls that, in its First Report, it stated that it would be guided in such cases by the general principles recommended by the Officers of the Governing Body and approved by the Governing Body. The Committee was unanimous in considering it inappropriate for the I.L.O to discuss purely political questions, but it recognised that situations which are political in origin may have social aspects which the I.L.O may be called upon to examine. The Committee considers that it should be guided by this principle in its examination of the present case.
2. 384. Further, it should be observed that the political aspects of the problem were examined at its Seventh Session by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which by 45 votes to 3, with 11 abstentions, adopted a resolution on this question on 19 December 1952, the text of which is as follows:
   • The General Assembly,
   • Having debated the " Question of Morocco ", as proposed by thirteen Member States in document A/2175,
   • Mindful of the necessity of developing friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
   • Considering that the United Nations, as a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of their common ends under the Charter, should strive towards removing any causes or factors of misunderstanding among Member States, thus reasserting the general principles of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace and security,
3. 1. Expresses the confidence that, in pursuance of its proclaimed policies, the Government of France will endeavour to further the fundamental liberties of the people of Morocco, in conformity with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter;
4. 2. Expresses the hope that the parties will continue negotiation on an urgent basis towards developing the free political institutions of the people of Morocco, with due regard to legitimate rights and interests under the established norms and practices of the law of nations;
5. 3. Appeals to the parties to conduct their relations in an atmosphere of goodwill, mutual confidence and respect and to settle their disputes in accordance with the spirit of the Charter, thus refraining from any acts or measures likely to aggravate the present tension.
6. 385. In these circumstances the Committee considers that it should confine itself to an examination of the purely trade union aspect of the question.
   • Allegations relating to Arbitrary Measures Taken against Trade Union Officials and to the Repression of Movements in Favour of Social Demands
7. 386. It is alleged in the first place that certain trade union leaders, not of Moroccan nationality, have been expelled from the territory by the French authorities (see paragraphs 301 and 302 above). The French Government has indicated in its letter dated 5 May 1952, giving details with regard to the cases of the different persons mentioned in the complaints (see paragraphs 338 to 347 above), that these persons have been expelled not because of their trade union activities but solely for reasons of public order.
8. 387. On several occasions previously the Committee has expressed the view that it is not for the Committee to deal with measures falling within national legislation concerning aliens unless they have direct repercussions on the exercise of trade union rights. It would appear from the very detailed information given by the Government, which is referred to above, that the persons in question were expelled for reasons of public security not directly connected with their trade union activities.
9. 388. It is alleged, further, that in numerous cases Moroccan trade union leaders have been arrested or sentenced to terms of imprisonment or placed under surveillance, that strikes have been violently repressed and that persons have been dismissed because of their trade union activities (see paragraphs 303 to 316 above).
10. 389. In this connection it appears from the observations presented by the Government that many of the incidents referred to in the complaints have coincided with certain occasions of political agitation (for example, the occasion of the anniversary of the signing of the Protectorate Treaty) and that a number of the complainants themselves have frequently joined together in their complaints demands of an occupational character and demands of a political nature. Thus, the resolution transmitted by the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco as an annex to its communication dated 11 August 1952 indicates that the workers of Casablanca " therefore reaffirm their determination to work for the abrogation of the Protectorate Treaty which has shown itself ineffective for forty years ".
11. 390. The Government declares, moreover, that several of the persons referred to as trade union officers by the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco have never possessed any trade union mandate whatsoever and, also, that the sentences and penalties imposed on persons who have genuinely been trade union officers were imposed pursuant to provisions of the common law and not on the ground of their trade union activities. The measures taken with respect to these persons were occasioned by activities manifestly inspired by groups of a purely political character and likely to provoke disorder and to endanger the public peace.
12. 391. As the Government states this was the case, for instance, with respect to the sanctions imposed on the trade union leader, Salah Meskini, " the stage-manager of all the strikes breaking out in Casablanca, who seeks to endow them with a political aspect and a very marked anti-French character ". He was the primary cause of the aggressive attitude adopted by the workers during the S.C.I.F strike in August 1952, in the course of which strikers were arrested and duly sentenced by the Pasha of Casablanca, not for having taken part in a strike but for having refused to evacuate premises and for having thrown stones at the police, in other words, for common law offences. Again, Mahjoub ben Hadj-Seddik was sentenced to two years' imprisonment (a sentence later reduced by half) for having incited persons to commit murder in a speech made at a trade union meeting, and Mohamed Berrich was sentenced to a similar term by the Pasha of Rabat for having interfered with an outside broadcast organised by Radio Morocco. Fourteen other accused appeared with him and they were sentenced to prison terms of from 40 days to 15 months. The sanctions applied to other agitators, such as Aomar Jdidi and Henri Triquère, were also occasioned by their subversive political activities. Some of the persons sentenced and then pardoned were later among the organisers of the events in Casablanca in December 1952.
13. 392. With regard to the allegation that a repressive policy is pursued by the employers and the administration against wage earners in general the French Government has refrained from presenting any observations in view of the imprecise nature of this allegation. It has, on the other hand, given details regarding certain strikes or dismissals specifically mentioned by the complainants.
14. 393. In the case of the strike at the S.A.F.T (Société Africaine des Filatures et Tissages) the Government states that the dispute actually ended in an agreement between the parties. The incidents which took place in Safi in March 1952 were not, according to the Government, of a trade union nature, but assumed the characteristics of a riot, the demonstrators besieging and stoning the Pasha's Court in order to secure the liberation of a non-existent prisoner. The fact that the fishing season opened two weeks later with an increased number of ships and a large number of Moroccan crewmen demonstrates, in the view of the Government, the falsity of the complainant's allegations that " all the fishermen met with had been arrested and imprisoned ". Thus, it would appear from the information given by the Government that no restriction has been placed even on the exercise of the right to strike for the purpose of defending occupational interests.
15. 394. The Government maintains that the dismissals referred to by the complainants were occasioned by one or other of the following reasons: abandonment of work, refusal to work, incitement to strike and interference with the freedom to work. It emphasises that most of the workers dismissed have been reinstated and that the others have benefited from all their rights (wages, paid holidays, family allowances, work certificates and even notice when the reason for their dismissal in certain cases would have justified termination of employment without notice).
16. 395. The Government also maintains that demands which have been justified have been considered and supported by the administrative authorities. The Government refers to several cases in which the labour inspector has succeeded in bringing about the reinstatement of employees who have been dismissed, sometimes even for having fomented a strike of employees in their own interests. The Government emphasises that, in Safi, in particular, the labour inspector has frequent and cordial contacts with the representatives of the two Moroccan trade unions which were set up in 1951, namely, the deep-sea fishermen's union, with 1,200 to 1,500 members, and the trade union of Moroccan workers of the Moroccan Textile Company, with 300 to 400 members. In this connection the Committee observes that even the texts of the complaints themselves sometimes contain an appreciation of the interventions made by the labour inspection service. Thus, in the resolution adopted by the trade union branch in the S.A.F.T undertaking during the course of the strike which occurred in that undertaking in August and September 1952 and which, according to the Government, subsequently terminated in agreement between the parties, it is stated that " the men and women employees of the S.A.F.T ...thank the labour inspector for the good will be has shown in connection with the settlement of the dispute ".
17. 396. The Government has also emphasised, on several occasions, that the administration places no obstacle in the way of the affiliation of Moroccan workers to existing trade unions in industry and commerce.
18. 397. Certainly, police action or repressive measures for the express purpose of preventing the formation of trade unions or of impeding their operation or activities in the defence of occupational interests would constitute infringements of freedom of association, as would measures which caused prejudice to a worker solely on the ground of his trade union activities, but it would not appear that the complainants, in the present case, have offered sufficient proof to show that anything of this nature has occurred.
19. 398. In these circumstances the Committee considers that, subject to the observations made in the foregoing paragraphs and, in particular, in paragraph 397, this aspect of the case does not call for further examination on the part of the Governing Body.
    • Allegations relating to Restrictions Placed on the Holding of Trade Union Meetings
20. 399. The complainants allege that the Resident-General prohibited the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco from organising demonstrations on the occasion of May Day 1952, that the police took forcible measures to attend trade union meetings in Port Lyautey, Safi and Meknès and that in certain centres a request for previous authorisation for the holding of trade union meetings is required. On 7 November 1952, in particular, a railwaymen's trade union meeting, for the purpose of discussing matters of a strictly occupational character, is alleged to have been prohibited at Meknès because no application for prior authorisation had been made. It is contended that this interference by the administration is contrary to the Dahir of 1936, which provides that trade unions are free to act in concert in order to study and defend their interests and that trade union premises are not distrainable, and are therefore inviolable, and that it is contrary also to the rules of the C.G.T, which provide that the trade union movement is self-administering at every level and decides upon its own action in complete independence.
21. 400. In its reply the Government affirms that the celebration of May Day 1952 was not prohibited and that the population was able to take part. At Meknès, in particular, the C.G.T asked the regional authorities persistently whether the demonstration would be prohibited, but it was not prohibited and, according to the Government, the Communist leaders were obliged to demonstrate publicly that they represented practically nothing. Only two meetings could not take place because their organisers did not wish to undertake that political questions would not be discussed.
22. 401. With regard to the presence of police officers at trade union meetings the Government observes that the presence of an officer in a hall where a public meeting is held is expressly provided for in the Dahir of 26 March 1914 and that the complainant is confusing freedom from distraint of a building (a juridical and financial concept) and the inviolability of premises contained in such a building.
23. 402. Finally, with regard to the applications for previous authorisation, every public meeting is in principle subject to the authorisation of the military authorities by virtue of the General Order of the Officer Commanding Moroccan Troops dated 14 March 1945, which is still applicable since Morocco is m a state of siege. Such previous authorisation, however, is not normally required, with the obvious exception that when trade unions meet in premises which are not normally used by them (at Port Lyautey, for example) they must naturally ask for the premises to be made available to them. The legislation in force authorises the regional authorities to prohibit any meeting which endangers public order. The rules of the C.G.T obviously cannot be invoked contrary to the laws regulating public order. In this connection the object of the meeting prohibited at Meknès on 7 November 1952 " was not so harmless as the agenda would make it appear, as was demonstrated the following month in Casablanca ".
24. 403. The Committee recalls that in several cases, in particular in the cases relating to Tunisia, it has been called upon to comment on alleged infringements of the right of meeting of the workers, and that it has emphasised, in this connection, that the right to organise public meetings is an important element in trade union rights.
25. 404. In the present case the Committee notes that the prohibition to hold trade union demonstrations on May Day 1952 was not general m character, but applied only to certain centres in which the organisers did not wish to undertake that political questions would not be discussed. The Committee also noted that where police officers have attended trade union meetings this has been because they were public meetings and because the Dahir of 26 March 1914 makes provision for the presence of an officer in any hall where a public meeting, whether a trade union meeting or not, is held. Finally, the Committee noted that, although application for previous authorisation for the holding of trade union meetings may normally be required when those meetings are of a public nature, such application for authorisation is, in fact, only rarely enforced.
26. 405. It would appear from the observations presented by the Government that the prohibitions of public meetings have been measures dictated by circumstances which do not infringe the right of trade union organisations to hold in their own premises meetings for the purpose of defending their occupational interests and that there has never been any question of a systematic prohibition of trade union meetings.
27. 406. The Committee, while noting that public meetings, whether of a trade union character or not, have been prohibited only in exceptional circumstances, and that no infringement of the right of trade union organisations to meet in their own premises appears to have occurred, nevertheless wishes to emphasise the importance of the principle that trade unions should be able to hold meetings for the purpose of defending their occupational interests, especially in their own premises, without interference on the part of the public authorities.
    • Allegations relating to the Non-Recognition of the Trade Union Rights of Moroccan Workers
28. 407. The complainants allege that, by virtue of the legislation at present in force, Moroccan workers, unlike European workers residing m Morocco, do not have the right to join trade unions of their own choosing or to establish a national central trade union organisation. Moreover, they state that the draft legislation prepared by the French authorities at the request of the Sultan of Morocco for the purpose of amending the existing legislation represents no advance towards ensuring to Moroccan workers the full exercise of their trade union rights.
29. 408. In its replies, and particularly in its letters of 27 November 1952, 27 May 1953 and 18 November 1953, the French Government gives explanations with regard to the legislation in force and also with regard to the proposed amending legislation.
30. 409. In order to consider this problem it is necessary to refer to the texts.
31. 410. The political status of Morocco depends on the Treaty signed between France and Morocco at Fez on 30 March 1912. Under this Treaty France assumes responsibility for Morocco's external relations. With regard to legislation, the Sultan of Morocco has the power to promulgate the legislative measures proposed by the French Government. He carries out this task by issuing Decrees (Dahirs). The French Government's representative to the Sultan is a Resident-General who has the power, in the name of the French Government, of giving binding force to the Decrees made by the Sultan. In view of this provision French texts of laws and regulations cannot be extended to Morocco without the intervention of the competent Moroccan authorities.
32. 411. The power to issue regulations is exercised by the Grand Vizir, who issues them in the form of Orders. The Resident-General can also issue " Residential Orders " and promulgate Ordinances or " Instructions ".
33. 412. France has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), in respect of its metropolitan territory, but has not communicated to the Director-General of the I.L.O a declaration under Article 13 of the Convention accepting the obligations of the Convention on behalf of Morocco.
34. 413. With regard to Moroccan trade union legislation the position may be summarised as follows: industrial associations are the subject of a Dahir dated 24 December 1936 Under article 2 of this text industrial associations or societies may be formed by Europeans who have been engaged for not less than a year in the French Zone of Morocco in the same occupation, similar trades or allied occupations.
35. 414. A Dahir dated 24 June 1938 provided for sanctions to be imposed on Moroccans who joined trade unions and on persons who undertook or attempted to organise Moroccan subjects in trade unions, or in union federations. However, on 29 May 1945, a circular issued by the Resident-General authorised Moroccan workers and salaried employees in industrial and commercial undertakings of a modern character to belong to trade unions. Finally a Dahir of 20 January 1950 repealed that of 24 June 1938.
36. 415. The French Government points out that, at this period, the trade union movement developed particularly rapidly. The administration places no obstacle in the way of the free participation of Moroccan workers in the existing trade unions; since 1950 union executives, especially in the case of the unions constituting the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco, have consisted partly of Moroccans and in some cases have a Moroccan majority. The three main French central trade union organisations (C.G.T, C.G.T. - F.O. and C.F.T.C.) are represented in Morocco.
37. 416. However, it is still the Dahir of 24 December 1936 which forms the basis of the regulations governing trade union rights. The result is that European workers have the right to form trade union organisations without any restriction, while Moroccan wage earners have merely the option of joining existing organisations, an option, moreover, which is accorded only to the personnel of industrial and commercial undertakings of a modern character. Consequently, legislation has not conferred upon them the formal right to constitute their own organisations.
38. 417. Various drafts have been prepared with a view to giving legal sanction to the existing factual situation and have been the subject of negotiations between the Resident-General and H.M the Sultan of Morocco; none of these drafts has, however, been adopted.
39. 418. In its memorandum dated 2 March 1951, transmitted and supported by the World Federation of Trade Unions, the General Union of Confederated Trade Unions of Morocco declared that " as a result of indescribable pressure ", H.M the Sultan was " forced to sign a protocol of agreement " which, according to the complaining organisation (although it has not been published), provided for legislation on the establishment of " non-political " Moroccan trade union rights, that is to say, according to the allegations, that the Resident-General was intending to dissolve the trade union organisations which enjoyed the confidence of the workers and to set up administrative trade unions whose leaders would have been appointed by the civil inspectors or the caids.
40. 419. In its reply dated 27 November 1952 the French Government has indicated that, according to the draft prepared by the Resident-General, Moroccans engaged in industrial, commercial or liberal occupations would have the right to organise, but the executive committees of the unions and federations would have to consist of Frenchmen and Moroccans in equal numbers. The Government explains that, in preparing this draft, it has been guided by the two following principles: first, the need to harmonise the growth of trade unionism with the tempo of the economic development of the country, which is the reason for excluding from the application of the law the still inexperienced masses of population in the countryside; secondly, the need to limit trade unionism to the occupational sphere in order to avoid the exploitation of the movement for political purposes. It is also necessary to ensure the indispensable contact between the different elements in the labour world and to make sure that the young Moroccan trade unionism should benefit from an experience which it has not yet been able to acquire, which is the reason for the provision that executive committees must be constituted on a joint basis.
41. 420. In particular the complainants (and especially the I.C.F.T.U) have made the following critical contentions: agricultural workers are excluded from all trade union organisation; workers in commerce and industry cannot adhere to unions of their own choosing but are obliged to join existing European trade unions; they cannot elect their representatives in full freedom because they are obliged to choose half of them from among the French workers; finally, they are denied the right to establish a central trade union organisation. The I.C.F.T.U concludes that, because they are contrary to Articles 2, 3 and 5 of Convention No. 87, these provisions, if they are eventually enacted, would infringe freedom of association.
42. 421. In their observations the complainants mention that Moroccan workers demand full freedom of association, and that it is for this reason that the Sultan, supporting the demands of the Moroccan workers, has rejected the Government's proposed reforms. The I.C.F.T.U observes, in particular, that it is impossible to justify the proposed legislation by reference to the economic structure of the country or to the degree of development which it has attained, in view of the fact that the Labour Code for French non-metropolitan territories, which was recently promulgated, ensures full freedom of association to all workers, including agricultural workers, in French non-self-governing territories which are less developed from the economic point of view than is Morocco.
43. 422. The Act of 15 December 1952 establishing a Labour Code for territories and associated territories within the competence of the Ministry for Overseas Territories, to which the complainant refers, includes, in particular, the following provisions concerning the right to organise:
    • Article 4. Persons who exercise the same occupation, similar occupations or related occupations in the production of specified products, or persons of the same profession, may freely constitute a trade union. Any worker or employer may freely join an organisation of his own choice within the limits of his occupation.
    • Article 6. The officers of a trade union must be citizens of the French Union, they must be in possession of their civil rights and must not have been sentenced to imprisonment.
    • Article 24. Trade unions which have been duly constituted according to the provisions of this Act may freely join together for the promotion and defence of their economic, industrial, commercial and agricultural interests. They may establish federations in any form.
44. 423. In its communication dated 27 May 1953 the Government observed that, as the draft Dahir submitted to H.M the Sultan in May 1948 had not received from him the necessary sanction for it to be put into effect, a new draft was in course of preparation and would be submitted to H.M the Sultan as soon as he had appended his seal to other reforms presented by the French Government in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of 30 March 1912. The Government indicated that, in deference to H.M the Sultan, it was not able to give the Committee on Freedom of Association detailed information concerning the draft or the date on which it would enter into force, but gave the assurance that France would make every effort to ensure that the new legislation was promulgated as quickly as possible. The Government also indicated that, in order to ensure to the workers of Morocco further opportunity of defending their occupational interests, the Resident-General had taken the initiative to set up in the undertakings workers' " djemaas " permitting the workers to be represented before employers by freely elected representatives. These " djemaas " were in no way called upon to replace the trade unions, but were intended to ensure within the undertaking, in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, the settlement of problems arising between the employer and his staff. The Government added that this new institution, adapted to the particular conditions of social and occupational life in Morocco, had so far been tried only as an experiment and had not been embodied in legislation but that it was an instrument of social progress which had had a very favourable reception in workers' circles.
45. 424. It was in these circumstances that at its Sixth Session (June 1953) the Committee, having noted the information provided by the French Government on these various points, expressed the wish that it might be kept informed of subsequent developments and also expressed the hope that the French Government would take steps with a view to the application in Morocco of the same principles with regard to freedom of association as it had put into application in other less developed territories under its administration.
46. 425. In its communication dated 18 November 1953 the Government states that developments in the political situation in Morocco have made it possible to put into effect important democratic reforms, some of which had for a long time been in suspense. The Government adds that, as announced in the communiqué issued after the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 15 September 1953, it has begun the examination of the draft relating to trade union rights in Morocco and that it will continue the study of the question with a view to reaching a decision at an early date. The Government points out that the draft was submitted on 22 October 1953 to a Committee meeting in Rabat and including persons chosen by the Government Council, representatives of trade unions and representatives of employers, and that, when the preliminary work has been completed, the Government will finally draft the text of the proposed reform and will submit it to H.M the Sultan for his signature and seal. The Government gives no indication as to the nature of the contents of this draft.
47. 426. While noting with satisfaction that, in spite of the particularly difficult conditions affecting the existing situation in Morocco, the French authorities have endeavoured to mitigate the effect of the absence in legislation of provisions guaranteeing to Moroccan workers the exercise of full trade union rights and have permitted the trade union movement in that country to develop to a considerable degree, the Committee considers that, until such time as it may receive from the French Government more precise information as to the contents of the new draft trade union legislation at present being studied and as to the date on which it will enter into force, it cannot terminate its examination of the allegations relating to the non-recognition of the trade union rights of Moroccan workers, in view of the fact that, if the Committee has not hitherto reached any conclusion on this matter, this is precisely by reason of the fact that the French Government had informed the Committee of its intention of adopting at an early date " a general legislative text embodying the rights already guaranteed and extending them, having regard to the social and economic conditions prevailing in Morocco, to the greatest degree possible ".
48. 427. But, as it is already more than two years since the Committee embarked upon its examination of the allegations relating to the non-recognition of the trade union rights of Moroccan workers, it considers that the time has now arrived when it should submit to the Governing Body an interim report on the position reached in the matter. A new report will be submitted to the Governing Body when the Committee is in possession of the information awaited from the French Government with respect to the introduction of a new trade union régime in Morocco.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 428. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
2. (1) to decide subject to the observations made particularly in paragraphs 397 and 398 above, that the allegations relating to arbitrary measures taken against trade union officials and to the repression of movements in favour of social demands do not call for further examination;
3. (2) to decide that, subject to the observations made in paragraph 406 above, the allegations relating to restrictions placed on the holding of trade union meetings do not call for further examination;
4. (3) to take note with satisfaction of the statement of the French Government to the effect that legislation relating to trade union rights in Morocco is in course of preparation and to express the hope that such legislation will come into force at an early date;
5. (4) to take note of the present interim report with respect to the allegations relating to the non-recognition of certain trade union rights of the Moroccan workers, it being understood that the Committee will report further on the matter when it is in possession of the information awaited from the French Government with respect to the introduction of a new trade union régime in Morocco.