Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 323, November 2000

Case No 2048 (Morocco) - Complaint date: 04-SEP-99 - Closed

Allegations: Arrest of trade union officers and members following strikes

1. 384. The Committee examined this case at its March 2000 session, when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body (see 320th Report, paras. 699-722, approved by the Governing Body at its 277th Session, March 2000).
2. 385. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 2 June, 3 July and 12 July 2000.
3. 386. Morocco has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); however, it has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 387. At its March 2000 session, in the light of the Committee's interim conclusions, the Governing Body had approved the following recommendations:
   • (a) Concerning the alleged cases of torture in the AVITEMA factory, the Committee expresses its profound concern and requests the Government to institute an independent judicial inquiry without delay in order to determine responsibility and punish the guilty parties and to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (b) Concerning the prison terms, fixed or suspended, imposed on the 21 workers who had participated in a strike at the AVITEMA factory, the Committee notes that the workers have been released but that an appeal is pending. The Committee reminds the Government that no one should be deprived of their freedom or be subject to penal sanctions for the mere fact of organizing or participating in a peaceful strike. The Committee requests the Government to transmit the decision of the Rabat Court of Appeal in this matter. Furthermore, the Committee hopes that measures will be taken so that the unionists may be reinstated in their jobs.
   • (c) Concerning the employer's refusal to allow the workers who had exercised their right to strike in the AVITEMA factory to return to work, the Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary measures without delay to ensure that these workers are able to return to work and to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (d) Concerning the sentencing to heavy prison terms of the three members of the fishermen's trade union affiliated to the UMT, the Committee expresses the hope that measures will be taken so that the workers may benefit from an amnesty. It requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.

B. The Government's new observations

1. 388. In its communication of 2 June 2000, the Government points out that on May Day (1 May 2000), the King pardoned a number of persons prosecuted or charged for taking part in certain industrial disputes, including the collective disputes in the AVITEMA farm and the coastal fishing industry in Agadir. It nevertheless specifies in its communication of 3 July 2000 that the wage earners in the AVITEMA farm had been conditionally released.
2. 389. The workers involved in the dispute at the AVITEMA farm brought an action before the Court of First Instance of Rabat on grounds of violence and torture against Mr. Abderrazak Chellaoui, the owner of the farm, Mr. Bouazza Maâche, member of the Menzah police, and Mr. Abdeslam Talha, member of the auxiliary police force of Aïn Aouda. Following inquiries carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department, the Public Prosecutor instituted proceedings against these three persons for misuse of authority, in accordance with section 231 of the Moroccan Penal Code.
3. 390. The complaints lodged by these same workers on grounds of alleged violations of the Labour Code by the owner of the AVITEMA farm were handed over by the Public Prosecutor to the Criminal Investigation Department so that it might carry out an inquiry. During their visit to the premises, the labour inspection services noted various infractions of the law in force and drafted a report that they transmitted to the competent legal authorities. According to the Government, all these actions bear witness to the objectivity and impartiality of the labour inspection administration and contradict all the allegations of the authority's connivance and partiality in the industrial dispute at the AVITEMA farm.
4. 391. In its communication of 12 July 2000, the Government stresses that the Ministry of Employment abides by the legal provisions applicable within this sphere of competence and has always done everything to promote the respect of workers' rights. The Minister summoned the owner of the farm several times, who always refused to appear before the Committee of Inquiry and Arbitration on the grounds that there was no collective dispute in his enterprise. The Government does not obstruct the free exercise of freedom of association; it has taken several steps and signed a number of agreements (of which it encloses the text) for the protection of trade unions and the promotion of social dialogue. In this case, the Government should not be held responsible for the impetuous and unlawful actions of an individual against whom proceedings have been instituted by a Moroccan court, which alone is competent to hand down a decision in this respect.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 392. The Committee notes that, in the context of the industrial dispute at the AVITEMA farm, the workers concerned were released on bail on Labour Day. The Committee reminds the Government once again that no one should be deprived of their freedom or be subject to penal sanctions for the mere fact of organizing or participating in a peaceful strike. The Committee trusts that the competent authorities will uphold this provisional measure and requests the Government once again to transmit the decision of the Rabat Court of Appeal in this matter once it has been handed down.
2. 393. As regards the alleged cases of torture and ill treatment, the Committee notes that judicial proceeding have been instituted on grounds of assault and grievous bodily harm under the Penal Code and requests the Government to communicate to it the ruling of the Court of the First Instance of Rabat on this matter once it has been handed down.
3. 394. The Committee notes however that no information has been provided concerning the reinstatement of the 21 strikers at the AVITEMA farm and the employer's refusal to allow the workers who had exercised their right to strike to return to work. Expressing the hope that measures will be taken to reinstate the trade unionists concerned in their posts, and recalling that respect for the principles of freedom of association requires that workers should not be dismissed or refused re-employment on account of their having participated in a strike or other industrial action, the Committee urges the Government once again to take without delay all the necessary measures to ensure that the workers dismissed from AVITEMA farm are reinstated in their posts and to keep it informed in this respect.
4. 395. As regards the dispute involving the fishermen in the port of Agadir, the Committee notes with interest that the workers concerned have been pardoned.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 396. In the light of the foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee requests the Government to transmit the decision of the Rabat Court of Appeal concerning the AVITEMA farm workers conditionally released, as soon as it has been handed down.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to communicate to it, once it has been handed down, the ruling of the Court of the First Instance of Rabat concerning Mr. Abderrazak Chellaoui, Mr. Bouazza Maâche and Mr. Abdeslam Talha.
   • (c) The Committee once again urges the Government to ensure that all the necessary measures are taken without delay so that the workers dismissed from AVITEMA farm are reinstated in their posts and to keep it informed in this respect.