A case shakes up one of the entities of one of the major charcuterie groups in Morocco, ” Koutoubia“. His branch, Meat Delights“, is accused by the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT) of having dismissed the members of a newly created union office on May 26, 2023, in the face of the inaction of the labor authorities and the local authorities responsible for enforcing the law. Here are the details.
The case goes back a few months already, when the employees of ” Meat Delights“, one of the branches of the group ” Koutoubia » apartment to a deputy of the city, were not paid for 3 months and had to be content only with « salary advances ».
When they demanded their rights from the management, the latter made the pretext of the difficult context that the company is going through and the current situation. This prompted them to form a union under the aegis of the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT), explains Abdelghani Raki, member of the National Council of the CDT.
The constitution of a trade union within Meat Delights “was not to the taste of the management who activated for the dissolution of this group made up of 15 members, explains Raki, specifying that thereafter ” 13 of the members of the new union bowed to management pressure by accepting a sum of money in return for their resignation, while the other two members who did not accept +the offer+, were unfairly dismissed “.
Faced with this situation, the employees of the company ” Meat Delights organized a general meeting at CDT headquarters on Wednesday, June 7, under the supervision of the regional office, and elected a new union office composed of 21 members.
Because of the willingness of workers to exercise their constitutional right to join a union in order to defend their rights, including unpaid wages for 3 months, and to put an end to” intimidation and savage exploitation of which they are victims”the regional office of the CDT in Mohammedia issued a press release including several demands.
Thus, the CDT calls the management of the company Meat Delightsbelonging to the Koutoubia group, to respect the right of workers to organize and join trade unions, and to ensure the implementation of the fundamentals of the Labor Code, in particular with regard to the payment of wages on time, improving working conditions and electing genuine workers’ representatives, instead of manipulating workplace elections without workers being informed.
The union also regrets the inability and failure of the labor authorities and local authorities to enforce the law, as well as the attitude of the owner of the company who ignores everyone by refusing to come to the direction of labor and the prefecture of Mohammedia. This attitude is not worthy of a parliamentarian mandated to legislate in the name of the nation and set an example in respect of national legislation and laws, denounces the CDT.
In conclusion, the union calls on the Minister of Labor to intervene with the management of Viandes Délice, after the failure of local services to resolve the outstanding dispute, and to work on the effective implementation of the provisions of the agreement of April 30, 2022, which provides for the protection of trade union freedoms and the promotion of local dialogue at the level of workers and regions.
It should be noted that MoroccoLatestNews UK tried to reach the boss of Koutoubia on several occasions, and left him messages to this effect, but no follow-up was given.
To be continued…