The Right to Strike: agricultural workers excluded in Morocco

On 5 February 2025, the Moroccan Parliament adopted Law 97.15 regulating the exercise of the right to strike. Rather than a simple law, it constitutes a form of discrimination towards workers in the informal sector, especially in rural areas. Between the legal procedures imposed on the call to strike and the waiting period, non-compliance with which is considered illegal, this legislation is an infringement on workers’ rights in this country.

This law has been rejected by all major trade unions, such as the Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT), Confédération Démocratique du Travail (CDT) and the Fédération Nationale du Secteur Agricole (FNSA), which have referred to it as ‘strike prohibition le gislation’.

It should be borne in mind that the right to strike is a fundamental right recognised not only in international law but also in Moroccan national legislation. This right has been enshrined in the Moroccan constitution since 1962 and was reaffirmed in Article 29 of the 2011 Constitution.

Even more disturbing, this law does not take into account in a pragmatic manner the reality of the different Moroccan professionals’ sectors. In Morocco, more than 80% of rural workers are employed informally, without work contracts or social protection. The agricultural minimum wage is 30% lower than that of the industrial sector, which reinforces inequality between rural workers and workers of other sectors.

The principle of fair regulation should instead have led the Moroccan legislature to abolish this situation of inequality and allow these people, whose working conditions are already unfavourable, to assert their rights.

The law imposes strict conditions for calling a strike: a representative trade union (although 75% of agricultural workers are not union members) or a strike committee must obtain a favourable vote of 25% of paid workers, and then a ratification by 35% in a general assembly. It also requires complex administrative procedures, rendering this right inaccessible to most unorganised workers.

Yet, the right to strike is vital to obtain just working conditions. This law impedes wildcat strikes and imposes complex procedures that prevent the majority of the rural working population from defending their rights.

Such legislation establishes a disadvantageous regime that runs counter to the principles and provisions relating to the protection of fundamental rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, workers’ rights and the rights of peasants and people working in rural areas. The CETIM, in support of the FNSA (Moroccan member of La Via Campesina), has submitted a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights protection mechanisms, demanding the repeal of law 97.15.

A social dialogue with trade unions and agricultural workers must be initiated to develop a framework that respects rights and protects workers in this sector. International standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the ILO Conventions and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants, to which Morocco is a signatory, must be incorporated into the country’s legislation.