Aziz Akhannouch, the head of government, stated on September 1st that the Guaranteed Interprofessional Minimum Wage (known by the French acronym SMIG) in the sectors of industry, commerce, and the liberal professions will increase by 5% and the Guaranteed Agricultural Minimum Wage (known by the French acronym SMAG) will increase by 10%, immediately entering into force.
This occurred within the framework of the full implementation of the government’s commitments included in the April 30th agreement with labor union representatives and the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies (CGEM) prior to the start of the second round of social dialogue. This dialogue revolved around the adoption of various reforms mainly the generalization and strengthening of social protection for all wage earners by reforming all social protection institutions and making sure that the online database of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) is error-free. This will help expedite the implementation of the framework bill n°09.21, with a total budget of 51 billion MAD, that proposes a new vision for the generalization of social protection.
These reforms resulted in an immediate increase in the Guaranteed Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMIG) from 14.81 dirhams to 15.55 dirhams hourly, and a subsequent one from 15.55 dirhams to 16.29 dirhams hourly starting September 2023. Likewise, the Guaranteed Agricultural Minimum Wage (SMAG) went immediately from 76.70 dirhams to 84.37 dirhams daily, with an additional increase from 84.37 dirhams to 88.58 dirhams daily, entering into force in September 2023.
Consequently, the new overall social cost generated by this reform of the SMIG and SMAG is as follow:
This round of social dialogue resulted in the consensus of the three parties which led to the signature of an agreement for the 2022-2024 period. This agreement includes a set of mutual obligations, they are as follow:
For the public sector, the SMIG would increase to 3,500 DH net per month, the abolition of scale 7 for civil servants belonging to the bodies of technical assistants and administrative assistants. and increase in the share of promotion in the grade from 33% to 36%.
As for the private sector, the SMIG will witness a 10% increase in the minimum wage divided into two stages, 5% in September 2022 and 5% in September 2023, along with a revision of the condition of the number of days to benefit from the retirement pension from 3,240 days to 1,320 days of affiliation. The new actions will allow policyholders who have reached the legal retirement age, with less than 1,320 days of membership, to recover their contributions and those of their employers. Moreover, the state will support the financial cost generated by the correction of the reference salaries for the calculation of the pension of future retirees, whose income has been impacted by the pandemic, and increase in family allowances for the fourth, fifth and sixth children in the private and public sectors. In addition to that, the state promises to make an offer, the costs of which it will assume, helping to reduce the wage cost of domestic workers for their employers.
In light of this immediate decision to increase the SMIG/SMAG, along with the inflation that is taking over the world and affecting Moroccans, what are some ways to achieve regional equity, either by covering school fees and transport services besides this increase of SMIG/SMAG? Keeping in mind that the economic growth and vulnerability of Morocco’s regions are not the same. Was there any suggested percentage of this increase by The Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), The Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT), and The General Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM) before this decision? Barlaman Today contacted the syndicates above regarding these matters, along with the meeting held by the Prime Minister on the 13th of September, however, no information was provided. Further details will be reported once there are any updates.