Moroccan workers celebrate Labor Day among harsh international situation, difficult local conditions

Moroccan workers took out to the streets in thousands to celebrate the Labor Day, which is marked this year by an extreme pressure from the international economic situation, and difficult domestic conditions, in addition to the specter of a general strike that warns of overall immobilization in the north African kingdom.

The working class is undergoing harsh pressure because of the international price hike, which sent domestic prices soaring, thus weakening the purchasing power of the population, and threatening of social instability.
It's a tough row to how for the government to deal with this delicate situation. Abbas El Fassi's team is indeed caught between the constraints of a global surge in oil and food prices, and its responsibilities and commitments vis-à-vis the working class and the Moroccans in general.
Unions, which held meeting all across the country, accused the cabinet of incapability to face the situation, and urged it to increase salaries, reduce income taxes and pursue the social dialog.
The social aspect has greatly deteriorated, and social conditions have worsened by the price hike, a costly life, declining public services and rampant unemployment, unionists said.
“The workers reject the seasonal nature of social dialog, and the disorder that marks it, as well as the defects that mar the handling of social problem,” a Rabat unionist told MAP.
The weak economic fabric of the country also took the heat. It is one of the causes of the current situation, workers said, as it adds new pains to an ailing class that has become incapable of buying a decent house, finding a rewarding job, and dragging itself out of poverty and want.
“We are in need of a responsible government and responsible businesses,” one unionist summed up.
The situation seems only to worsen since a fourth round of negotiations between the government and the unions ended without headway being reached. Workers’ representatives have rejected a government offer to increase salaries and reduce income taxes, saying the cabinet is too mean with workers, while it offers juicy fiscal advantages for already rich businesses.
Hard days are ahead. The Democratic Federation of Labor (FDT), one of the largest unions, has called for a general strike on May 13 in all state sectors, in coordination with the other unions “until the satisfaction of our immediate and legitimate demands,” FDT representative in Rabat said.
HAMID BENBELLA,MAY 5,2008