Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2017, publiée 107ème session CIT (2018)

Convention (n° 158) sur le licenciement, 1982 - Maroc (Ratification: 1993)

Article 2 of the Convention. Exclusions. The Committee notes the promulgation of Act No. 19-12 establishing conditions of work and employment for men and women domestic workers, published in the Official Bulletin on 5 October 2017. The Committee also notes that the Arabic text of the Act was published in the Official Bulletin on 22 August 2016 and that the Act will come into force one year after the date of publication of its implementing texts in the Official Bulletin. The Government adds that the Bill concerning conditions of work in exclusively traditional sectors was sent to the Secretariat-General of the Government in March 2015. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which Act No. 19-12 guarantees domestic workers the protections afforded by the Convention, particularly in relation to the period of notice, the valid reasons for termination, and adequate compensation. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged concerning the application of the Convention to the workers covered by the Act.

Articles 4, 7, 8 and 11. Court decisions concerning the justification for termination, the procedure prior to termination, appeals against unjustified termination, and serious misconduct. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide summaries of court decisions relating to the abovementioned Articles. The Government indicates that the employer is required to observe a criterion of proportionality according to the misconduct committed, dismissal being the most severe penalty that the employer can impose on the employee concerned. The Committee notes sections 62–65 of the Labour Code describing the procedure to be followed in the event of termination, particularly section 62 of the Labour Code, which grants employees whose employment has been terminated the right to defend themselves and to be heard by their employer in the presence of the workers’ delegate or trade union representative of their choice. The Government refers to Judgment No. 177 of 25 August 2011 issued by the Supreme Court (now the Court of Cassation), which concludes that in the event of serious misconduct by an employee, the employer is required to observe the formalities laid down by the Labour Code, otherwise the termination of the employment contract will be deemed unjustified. The Committee notes the statistics communicated by the Government for 2015, namely that there were 41,323 appeals against termination, of which 12,767 were decided in favour of the employee, 9,926 went against the employee, 1,032 were withdrawn and 17,598 are pending. The Committee notes with regret that the Government has sent only one extract from a court decision relating to justified termination. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide examples of decisions illustrating the application of Article 4 (justification for termination), Article 7 (procedure prior to termination) and Article 11 (serious misconduct) of the Convention. It also requests the Government to send up-do-date statistics, particularly on the nature of compensation awarded and the time taken to issue a decision (Article 8).

Articles 13 and 14. Termination on economic, technological, structural or similar grounds. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to continue including information on the termination of employment on economic or similar grounds. In this regard, the Government indicates that in 2015 labour inspectors conducted 23,506 inspections in industry, commerce and the services sector and 1,271 inspections in agriculture, during which they recorded six offences by employers relating to collective termination and 39,387 complaints concerning termination and the notice period out of an overall total of 139,962 complaints, with 4,129 workers reinstated in their jobs. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the statistics provided correspond to terminations on economic, technological, structural or similar grounds. It also requests the Government to provide information on other sectors of activity.