Unemployed Graduates Resume Sit-in
21 July 2009
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Three groups of unemployed graduates, namely Istihkak, Anassr, and Hiwar, held a sit-in at the entrance of the Istiqlal party headquarters in Rabat on November 12, starting at 12 pm.
The three groups protested against serious breaches of the agreement recently signed with the government concerning the integration of more than 2,700 unemployed graduates. The group accuses the government of failing to create, as agreed, the special commission responsible for institutionalizing a preferential approach for senior executives. Another criticism concerns the undefined missions of the technical committee responsible for monitoring the file.
Unemployed graduates also protested against the addition of nearly 2,000 people to the lists of executives concerned who will have priority in the competitions organized for recruitment in the civil service. "These names belong to fictitious groups; they have never supported our cause. These are people close to those in power who have benefited from their support, and whose names have ended up on the lists without our knowledge," said Lahssen Lhassouni, secretary-general of the Istihkak group, firmly. Another important grievance is the cancellation of written examinations as a condition of employment. "We are against written tests because it is not mentioned in the law.
This is a new strategy to allow those close to those in power to access available positions," emphasizes Ahmed Kendou, a member of the Hiwar group. These irregularities, according to this unemployed graduate, undermine the transparency of the framework agreement that allows these graduates to benefit from preferential measures for their integration into the civil service. It is important to note that this sit-in expresses the reaction of senior executives following the decision of the Ministry of National Education to recruit 1,000 unemployed executives after successfully passing written and oral examinations.
The three groups are calling for a boycott of these examinations. "We chose to organize this sit-in at the headquarters of the Istiqlal party to ask the Prime Minister to keep his promises regarding the employment of 16,000 people, which were also mentioned in the 2008 Finance Act," says Lahssen Guendou. Meanwhile, the three groups promise to continue their protest movement and boycott the 1,000 jobs offered by the Ministry of National Education. The government recently signed an agreement with about twenty groups of unemployed senior executives to end a crisis that has lasted for many years. The agreement signed between the government and unemployed senior executives concerns 2,768 people who will benefit from preferential measures for their integration into the civil service, as well as for retraining sessions in partnership with institutes, universities, and higher education institutions in the Kingdom. For the first category, it was agreed to create a special commission composed of representatives from the Ministry of Employment, Vocational Training, and the Ministry of Public Sector Modernization.
This commission was to send to the various government departments the lists of executives concerned who will have priority in the competitions organized for recruitment in the civil service. Recall that this agreement was signed between former Prime Minister Driss Jettou and four groups of long-term unemployed executives (1,463 in total) who had "led" most of the demonstrations in front of Parliament and the headquarters of ministerial departments.
These four groups were joined by sixteen others, bringing the total number of senior executives concerned to 2,768. In return, the groups of unemployed senior executives undertook to suspend all protest demonstrations in front of Parliament or the headquarters of ministries and public administrations.
Published November 12, 2007
Le matin
The three groups protested against serious breaches of the agreement recently signed with the government concerning the integration of more than 2,700 unemployed graduates. The group accuses the government of failing to create, as agreed, the special commission responsible for institutionalizing a preferential approach for senior executives. Another criticism concerns the undefined missions of the technical committee responsible for monitoring the file.
Unemployed graduates also protested against the addition of nearly 2,000 people to the lists of executives concerned who will have priority in the competitions organized for recruitment in the civil service. "These names belong to fictitious groups; they have never supported our cause. These are people close to those in power who have benefited from their support, and whose names have ended up on the lists without our knowledge," said Lahssen Lhassouni, secretary-general of the Istihkak group, firmly. Another important grievance is the cancellation of written examinations as a condition of employment. "We are against written tests because it is not mentioned in the law.
This is a new strategy to allow those close to those in power to access available positions," emphasizes Ahmed Kendou, a member of the Hiwar group. These irregularities, according to this unemployed graduate, undermine the transparency of the framework agreement that allows these graduates to benefit from preferential measures for their integration into the civil service. It is important to note that this sit-in expresses the reaction of senior executives following the decision of the Ministry of National Education to recruit 1,000 unemployed executives after successfully passing written and oral examinations.
The three groups are calling for a boycott of these examinations. "We chose to organize this sit-in at the headquarters of the Istiqlal party to ask the Prime Minister to keep his promises regarding the employment of 16,000 people, which were also mentioned in the 2008 Finance Act," says Lahssen Guendou. Meanwhile, the three groups promise to continue their protest movement and boycott the 1,000 jobs offered by the Ministry of National Education. The government recently signed an agreement with about twenty groups of unemployed senior executives to end a crisis that has lasted for many years. The agreement signed between the government and unemployed senior executives concerns 2,768 people who will benefit from preferential measures for their integration into the civil service, as well as for retraining sessions in partnership with institutes, universities, and higher education institutions in the Kingdom. For the first category, it was agreed to create a special commission composed of representatives from the Ministry of Employment, Vocational Training, and the Ministry of Public Sector Modernization.
This commission was to send to the various government departments the lists of executives concerned who will have priority in the competitions organized for recruitment in the civil service. Recall that this agreement was signed between former Prime Minister Driss Jettou and four groups of long-term unemployed executives (1,463 in total) who had "led" most of the demonstrations in front of Parliament and the headquarters of ministerial departments.
These four groups were joined by sixteen others, bringing the total number of senior executives concerned to 2,768. In return, the groups of unemployed senior executives undertook to suspend all protest demonstrations in front of Parliament or the headquarters of ministries and public administrations.
Published November 12, 2007
Le matin
