The State decides to stop working with temporary employment agencies that do not pay their financial security deposit
15 June 2010
Read by 1815 persons
Only twenty temporary employment agencies have paid the security deposit to the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion.
Amounting to 1.2 MDH, the security deposit is considered too high for small businesses.
Part of the profession wants to reform this provision of the labor code.
The pressure is mounting on temporary employment agencies that are not yet compliant with the labor code. The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Jamal Aghmani, is determined to enforce the provisions of the code and, more generally, to continue the process of social compliance, a project that has been underway for some time but which seems to be gaining momentum for at least two years.
The minister reiterated this commitment on May 28 during a meeting of the tripartite commission (temporary employment agencies, unions, and administration) responsible for monitoring the proper application of the labor code provisions relating to temporary employment.
During this meeting, the second of its kind since 2007, the issue of the security deposit was discussed at length, but the representatives of the temporary employment agencies were divided on the subject. On the one hand, the companies affiliated with the Moroccan Union of Temporary Employment Companies (UMETT), which are committed to complying with the law, as their president, Zahir Lamrani, points out, agreed to pay the security deposit as provided for in Article 482 of the labor code, i.e., a financial security deposit equal to 50 times the annual value of the national minimum wage (SMIG), or 1.2 MDH, to be deposited with the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (CDG) and intended to compensate temporary workers in the event of their employer's default.
On the other hand, the companies that are members of the Association of Transparent and Organized Temporary Employment Companies (AETTTO), while declaring their full adherence to the approach of social compliance for companies in the sector, are campaigning for the transformation of the financial security deposit into a bank guarantee. "For us, the important thing is not that a small company bleeds itself dry to pay the security deposit, but that everyone respects the law, meets its obligations, and demonstrates professionalism. That is why we have proposed that this financial security deposit be transformed into a bank guarantee," explains Jamal Belahrech, president of the AETTTO. A bill has indeed been initiated in this direction by a USFP deputy, Khalid Hariri, and the file is now being followed by Saloua Belkziz Karkri, another socialist deputy.
For the minister, the law must be applied pending a possible reform
When questioned on the subject by La Vie éco, Jamal Aghmani explains that his job is first to enforce the law. The code came into force six years ago, and it is not normal that its provisions, in this matter (as in many others, editor's note), are not yet being applied, he will say in substance. "That said, if Parliament agrees to amend the labor code and satisfies those who would like to transform the financial security deposit into a bank guarantee, in that case, I will also apply the law, that is, I will comply with that amendment. But what I am saying is that, in the meantime, the law must be applied and there is no longer any reason to evade it," the minister further specifies.
In 2007, only one temporary employment company had paid the security deposit. At the end of 2009, their number had risen to fifteen, and today, five files are under review at the ministry, according to Mr. Aghmani. In the first half of 2010, therefore, twenty of them are legally operating. But how many companies operate in the sector? No one really knows; not even the ministry! Putting aside those who may be working in the "informal" sector, Zahir Lamrini estimates the number of those operating in temporary employment and who are organized at around thirty.
While waiting for the bill on the security deposit to find an echo with parliamentarians, the minister wants to apply the law by putting two circulars that he signed several months ago back on the table, but this time he wants to put them into application. The first circular (no. 38) aimed to regulate the entry of new companies into the sector. These can now only register with the CNSS if they produce the ministry's approval, which is only granted upon presentation of a document from the CDG proving that the security deposit has been paid. In the circular (no. 37), the ministry requests that all public establishments and companies, as well as their supervisory authorities, systematically exclude from public procurement contracts temporary employment agencies that are not yet compliant with the provision on the security deposit. To submit a bid, they must indeed produce documents proving that they have paid the security deposit to the CDG. "It's an indirect way of forcing them to respect the law," estimates Mr. Rhmani. But are companies and public establishments that use temporary employment services complying with this condition? Apparently not all of them yet. The UMETT has suggested, in this regard, that labor inspectors and CNSS controllers, during their visits to companies, verify that these companies are actually working with temporary employment agencies that are compliant with the law.
FOCUS: Between transparency and professional secrecy
In addition to the issue of the security deposit, Jamal Aghmani also says he wants to bring temporary employment agencies (TEAs) to comply with another provision of the labor code. This is Article 484, which stipulates that private recruitment agencies authorized to operate are required to transmit to the employment services at the end of each semester a detailed statement of the services provided, including information on the employers who have requested their intervention, as well as information on the job seekers registered and those placed by them. Although this is a legislative provision, TEAs do not seem willing to provide the ministry with this information. "For obvious reasons of competition, we cannot give our clients' files," estimates a CEO of a temporary employment agency.
Published on June 14, 2010
Posted online on June 15, 2010
la vie eco
Amounting to 1.2 MDH, the security deposit is considered too high for small businesses.
Part of the profession wants to reform this provision of the labor code.
The pressure is mounting on temporary employment agencies that are not yet compliant with the labor code. The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Jamal Aghmani, is determined to enforce the provisions of the code and, more generally, to continue the process of social compliance, a project that has been underway for some time but which seems to be gaining momentum for at least two years.
The minister reiterated this commitment on May 28 during a meeting of the tripartite commission (temporary employment agencies, unions, and administration) responsible for monitoring the proper application of the labor code provisions relating to temporary employment.
During this meeting, the second of its kind since 2007, the issue of the security deposit was discussed at length, but the representatives of the temporary employment agencies were divided on the subject. On the one hand, the companies affiliated with the Moroccan Union of Temporary Employment Companies (UMETT), which are committed to complying with the law, as their president, Zahir Lamrani, points out, agreed to pay the security deposit as provided for in Article 482 of the labor code, i.e., a financial security deposit equal to 50 times the annual value of the national minimum wage (SMIG), or 1.2 MDH, to be deposited with the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (CDG) and intended to compensate temporary workers in the event of their employer's default.
On the other hand, the companies that are members of the Association of Transparent and Organized Temporary Employment Companies (AETTTO), while declaring their full adherence to the approach of social compliance for companies in the sector, are campaigning for the transformation of the financial security deposit into a bank guarantee. "For us, the important thing is not that a small company bleeds itself dry to pay the security deposit, but that everyone respects the law, meets its obligations, and demonstrates professionalism. That is why we have proposed that this financial security deposit be transformed into a bank guarantee," explains Jamal Belahrech, president of the AETTTO. A bill has indeed been initiated in this direction by a USFP deputy, Khalid Hariri, and the file is now being followed by Saloua Belkziz Karkri, another socialist deputy.
For the minister, the law must be applied pending a possible reform
When questioned on the subject by La Vie éco, Jamal Aghmani explains that his job is first to enforce the law. The code came into force six years ago, and it is not normal that its provisions, in this matter (as in many others, editor's note), are not yet being applied, he will say in substance. "That said, if Parliament agrees to amend the labor code and satisfies those who would like to transform the financial security deposit into a bank guarantee, in that case, I will also apply the law, that is, I will comply with that amendment. But what I am saying is that, in the meantime, the law must be applied and there is no longer any reason to evade it," the minister further specifies.
In 2007, only one temporary employment company had paid the security deposit. At the end of 2009, their number had risen to fifteen, and today, five files are under review at the ministry, according to Mr. Aghmani. In the first half of 2010, therefore, twenty of them are legally operating. But how many companies operate in the sector? No one really knows; not even the ministry! Putting aside those who may be working in the "informal" sector, Zahir Lamrini estimates the number of those operating in temporary employment and who are organized at around thirty.
While waiting for the bill on the security deposit to find an echo with parliamentarians, the minister wants to apply the law by putting two circulars that he signed several months ago back on the table, but this time he wants to put them into application. The first circular (no. 38) aimed to regulate the entry of new companies into the sector. These can now only register with the CNSS if they produce the ministry's approval, which is only granted upon presentation of a document from the CDG proving that the security deposit has been paid. In the circular (no. 37), the ministry requests that all public establishments and companies, as well as their supervisory authorities, systematically exclude from public procurement contracts temporary employment agencies that are not yet compliant with the provision on the security deposit. To submit a bid, they must indeed produce documents proving that they have paid the security deposit to the CDG. "It's an indirect way of forcing them to respect the law," estimates Mr. Rhmani. But are companies and public establishments that use temporary employment services complying with this condition? Apparently not all of them yet. The UMETT has suggested, in this regard, that labor inspectors and CNSS controllers, during their visits to companies, verify that these companies are actually working with temporary employment agencies that are compliant with the law.
FOCUS: Between transparency and professional secrecy
In addition to the issue of the security deposit, Jamal Aghmani also says he wants to bring temporary employment agencies (TEAs) to comply with another provision of the labor code. This is Article 484, which stipulates that private recruitment agencies authorized to operate are required to transmit to the employment services at the end of each semester a detailed statement of the services provided, including information on the employers who have requested their intervention, as well as information on the job seekers registered and those placed by them. Although this is a legislative provision, TEAs do not seem willing to provide the ministry with this information. "For obvious reasons of competition, we cannot give our clients' files," estimates a CEO of a temporary employment agency.
Published on June 14, 2010
Posted online on June 15, 2010
la vie eco
