The second 5% increase in the guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage (SMIG), scheduled for the beginning of September, has recently sparked a lot of debate. In fact, its application did not seem certain, as was the case for the first revaluation carried out at the beginning of September 2022.
Finding confirmed by the trip of the Minister of Employment, Youness Sekkouri, Friday, September 1, to the headquarters of the CGEM, in which was accused of making this second increase conditional on the adoption of the law on strikes and the revision of the Labor Code.
At the end of his meeting with employers, the minister wanted to dispel doubts about this second increase and expressed his optimism and serenity regarding the continuation of social dialogue.
More suspense around the second 5% increase in the minimum wage . “The government is committed to applying it and is working to accelerate its implementation in accordance with what was agreed in the social agreement of April 30, 2022”, reassures the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business , employment and skills, Youness Sekkouri .
In a statement to the press following his meeting with the board of directors of the CGEM on Friday, Mr. Sekkouri affirmed that “the employers’ organization had no objection concerning the second increase in the SMIG , and that this meeting was an opportunity to convey messages relating to business expectations. Something we understand.”
And the minister continued by saying that he sees no reason why things should not evolve in the right direction, stressing that “a lot of work has been done on the organic law relating to strikes, which will be submitted to Parliament once the opinions of the CGEM and the unions have been collected”.
On Thursday, the government spokesperson, Mustapha Baïtas, during the weekly press briefing following the Governing Council , declared that “the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch , had instructed Mr. Sekkouri, during this Council, to hold meetings with the unions and the CGEM to bring together points of view (…) while ensuring that each party keeps its commitments as they were signed in the agreement of April 30, 2022.”
Furthermore, as a reminder, during his speech on the occasion of the May 1 celebrations, Youness Sekkouri welcomed the progress obtained within the framework of social dialogue, indicating in particular that the second increase in the minimum wage would take place “in a few month”.
What does the CGEM want?
Concern about the application of the second revaluation of the SMIG has been fueled in recent days by unions who have attributed to the CGEM the intention of conditioning the application of the second increase in the minimum wage on the adoption of the law on strikes in a form that would be favorable to it, and the relaxation of labor law in a way that would make it possible to break contracts at lower cost for companies. It must be said that their fears were justified, to the extent that the media outings of certain employer leaders went in this direction.
Smig: the UMT denounces “indecent bargaining”
Also note that the day after the April 2023 round of social dialogue , the UMT issued an incendiary press release in which it strongly criticized employers by denouncing “indecent bargaining”. She was also indignant at the fact that the CGEM conditions the application of the second tranche of the 5% increase in the minimum wage on the adoption of “regressive laws” (reform of the Labor Codeand the law on the right to strike, Editor’s note).
For the UMT, “this is unacceptable blackmail because it is detrimental to the workers”. Regarding the organic law on strikes, Mr. Sekkouri recalled that this important law, also demanded by the unions, has been the subject of significant work, stressing that after consultation with the unions and employers, it will be submitted in Parliament in the coming days.
The minister also specified that his department remained open to proposals from each other, “within the framework of what is reasonable and serves the general interest”. The points relating to the regulation of the right to strike and the relaxation of labor law were at the heart of the arguments put forward by employers during the social dialogue session last April.
Indeed, President of the CGEM, Chakib Alj, at the end of his meeting with the Head of Government, had affirmed the full mobilization of the Confederation to succeed in the social dialogue, while expressing the wish to accelerate the legislative reforms, in particular the modification of the Labor Code and the promulgation of the law on strikes to support, on the one hand, the implementation of the investment charter and to improve, on the other hand, the business climate, “which are necessary to safeguard the economic fabric and promote employment.
