It’s decided. The bosses of cafes and restaurants in Morocco opt for escalation and announce a national strike of 48 hours, on April 5 and 6. This decision comes at a time when the Moroccan Cafés and Restaurants Association had already warned the government against the problems that arise (charges, tax revisions, taxes, restrictive measures, etc.).
At the meeting held earlier this week by the Association of Patrons of Cafes and Restaurants of Morocco, the members expressed, by a majority, the need for an escalation against the government and its decisions, entrusted to Hespress, a source of the association.
“Most of the cafe bosses decided to launch a national strike on Monday and Tuesday next, while some regions were free to choose the appropriate time to do so,” she added.
This decision comes even as professionals in the sector ” complained about government decisions, including the imposed closing time of 8 p.m. with the curfew, in addition to its reluctance to intervene to do them justice in terms of local taxes that have overwhelmed them and made life more difficult than ‘she is’.
“The owners of cafes and restaurants are now unable to cope with the tax charges imposed on them by local authorities, and they are surprised that the government authorities do not intervene to help them in this situation. », Confides the same source.
A few cities in the Kingdom woke up on Tuesday to find their local coffee shops were closing. These are cafes that have anticipated the strike, given the financial crisis they are going through, and as the only way to voice their grievances to government officials.
Professionals in the sector in the town of Mrirt began their strike early, closing their doors as of Tuesday to their clients, to protest against the government and its decision.
The National Association of Cafe and Restaurant Patrons expressed its surprise that the Ministry of the Interior did not intervene with the heads of communities who ask professionals in the sector to review taxes on drinks, to pay 100% of temporary operating costs in the public domain, 100% for advertising posters and 100% for business tax.
So many revisions and taxes that the owners of cafes and restaurants are unable to pay, since they can barely breathe alongside the fixed charges that they have to pay on a daily basis.
In a recent statement to Hespress Fr, Ahmed Bouferkane, national coordinator of the Association, thus expressed his total dissatisfaction with the lack of appreciation of the head of government, the Vigilance Committee and the ministries concerned by the sector, while condemning the “ irresponsible treatment »Of the latter in the face of calls, proposals and correspondence from the association’s national office, linked to the significant accumulations of bills and charges during the pandemic.
While holding the Minister of Employment and Professional Integration, Mohamed Amekraz, responsible for the difficult social crisis facing employees in the sector, the association’s office had previously asked the government official to hold an urgent meeting. with representatives of employees and professionals as well as the general manager of the CNSS. But in vain.
The association’s office also asked the government to remove all taxes and fees for the year 2020 in order to help restaurants and cafes continue their work, while also asking it to apply the recommendations of the foundation of the taxation, in which all the speakers confirmed the fiscal weight weighing on the sector.
