Protests, wage demands mark International Workers’ Day in Morocco, Tunisia

​​​​​​​By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - Demonstrators in Morocco took to the streets Thursday in union-led protests marking International Workers’ Day to demand higher wages and improved working conditions.

The labor unions in Tunisia denounced unilateral decision-making and warned about worsening economic conditions.

Demonstrations unfolded in several cities in Morocco, including Rabat, where the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), and others, held rallies to defend the rights of workers.

Miloudi Moukharik, UMT’s secretary-general, stressed the need for wage hikes, better pensions and increased family allowances during a union festival speech.

The government announced a second 500-dirham ($50) wage increase Wednesday for public sector workers, effective in July, following a similar raise last July.

The General Labor Union (TGLU) in Tunisia accused the government of pursuing a “policy of unilateralism” and demanded the resumption of social negotiations.

“In the face of a continued policy of unilateral decision-making, which will only deepen failure, corruption, and decline, the hopes of most Tunisians have faded,” secretary-general Noureddine Nour El Din Taboubi said in an address to hundreds of workers outside the union’s headquarters in central Tunis.

Tunisian President Kais Saied previously argued that the TGLU’s role should remain strictly labor-related.

“The right to unionize is guaranteed by the Constitution, but it cannot be used as a cover for political agendas,” he said in January 2023.

Taboubi warned about the continued decline in Tunisians’ purchasing power from rising prices and persistent shortages of essential goods.

He urged authorities to “immediately reopen social negotiations,” stressing that “negotiations are a right, not a favor, and must begin without delay to preserve social stability and uphold workers’ rights.”

In July 2021, Saied enacted extraordinary measures that included dissolving the judiciary and parliament, ruling by presidential decree, passing a new Constitution via referendum, and holding early parliamentary elections. Presidential elections are expected later this year.

According to Shaher Saad, head of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, 33 workers have died since Oct. 7, 2023, due to Israeli attacks, including shootings near the barrier and torture during interrogations. Some died from stress-related heart attacks in overcrowded shelters in the West Bank.

In June 2002, Israel began constructing a concrete barrier on the West Bank territory to restrict Palestinian movement, a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority and the UN. In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion declaring the wall illegal.

Roughly 11,000 workers have been arrested, and more than 500,000 Palestinians are now unemployed, said Saad, noting that 220,000 jobs inside Israel have vanished, many without final pay.

The Gaza Media Office said in a statement marking International Workers’ Day that workers are experiencing a state of “total paralysis” in securing a source of income due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s genocide.

"While the world celebrates International Workers’ Day, the Gaza Strip is enduring catastrophic conditions due to the ongoing Israeli blockade and the devastating impact of repeated military assaults on all sectors of life,” it said.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

More than 52,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.​​​​​​​