VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0074/01 1051726
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151726Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8362
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE 0998
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 3852
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 0698
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME IMMEDIATE 0340
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE 0149
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000074 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND DRL/ILCSR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV ECON ETRD MO
SUBJECT:  MOROCCO: TRANSPORTATION STRIKE BRINGS COUNTRY TO 
A  HALT 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Morocco's labor unions brought 
much of commerce to a halt and caused widespread 
shortages of fuel and a substantial increase in food 
prices after a nine day strike in protest against 
the government of Morocco's (GOM) proposed reform to 
the traffic code.  The strike which began on April 6 
gained momentum and culminated in a near complete 
stoppage of deliveries and taxi services by the end 
of the week.  The unions suspended the strike on 
April 15 after the GOM agreed to withdraw the 
offending code for further negotiations.  Although 
stricter safety standards and greater government 
oversight of the transportation sector in the code 
were the spark that started the fire, some union 
observers point to posturing for the impending 
national labor elections in May as the true reason 
for the widespread success of the strike. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------- 
No, I Won't Wear My Seatbelt! 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Morocco's labor unions went on strike April 
6 in protest of the GOM's new draft traffic code 
which recently moved a step closer to becoming law 
when it passed to the upper chamber of parliament 
for review.  The new laws aim to increase the safety 
of the roads by increasing government oversight of 
the licensing and training of commercial drivers and 
their vehicles.  The reforms also include a point 
system for drivers, a substantial increase in fines 
for moving violations, and jail sentences for death 
and injury resulting from reckless driving.  Morocco 
has long suffered from a poor safety record on the 
road.  The Ministry of Transportation estimates that 
every year traffic accidents in the kingdom kill 
more than 4,000 people, injure more than 7,000, and 
result in approximately $239 million U.S. dollars in 
financial losses. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The strike began in earnest Monday, April 6 
when drivers abandoned their trucks in front of the 
entrance to Casablanca's port, effectively 
preventing the flow of any goods in or out of 
Morocco's largest seaport.  Likewise, drivers of 
grands taxis, responsible for medium distance 
transport between towns and in the cities, blocked 
or slowed traffic on major arteries in the cities 
and on busy highways including the Casablanca-Rabat 
motorway.  Many of the petits taxis, the backbone of 
transport within the cities, did not initially 
participate in the strike but harassment, vandalism, 
and threats by the strikers culminated in a complete 
national transport stoppage on Saturday, April 18. 
A ConOff in Marrakech observed distraught tourists 
unable to catch their flights out of the country 
with not a single taxi on the road. 
 
----------------------- 
Economic Repercussions: 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The strikes took a heavy economic toll 
resulting notably in severe localized gasoline 
shortages and an increase in food prices.  Although 
the country's only refinery in Mohammedia reported 
no shortage in production, as of April 11 
approximately 90 percent of the countries gasoline stations 
reported a shortage of supply and many rationed 
distribution.  The Oil Tankers Group of Morocco 
(Groupement des Petroliers du Maroc) informed the 
press that of the 1,800 service stations in the 
country only 380 were still in operation as of April 
¶13. 
 
¶5. (U) The delivery from production centers to 
cities of fruits and vegetables was equally 
affected, especially in Casablanca.  The press 
reported increases in fruit and vegetable prices of 
10 to 15 percent on average and in some cases a 
doubling or tripling of prices for staples such as 
 
potatoes and tomatoes.  Over the weekend of April 
11-12, Casablanca's Mayor Mohammed Sajid reported 
that no trucks had reached the central fruit and 
vegetable wholesale market in days. Other industries 
have likewise suffered.  Construction projects 
reportedly halted for lack of materials. 
 
¶6. (U) Fish processors in Agadir and others involved 
in the export of food items abroad complained that 
the transport strike forced food exporters to pay 
penalties to their customers and risks cancellation 
of contracts with European distributers.  On April 
9, strikers blocked 25 refrigerated trucks carrying 
fruits at Guelmim en route from the Western Sahara 
to factories in Agadir resulting in the spoiling of 
some 400 tons of food.  Vandalism, harassment and 
threats against drivers were widespread.  The press 
reported the death of one striker who tried to block 
traffic in Temara, a coastal town south of Rabat. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The port in Casablanca was initially kept 
in operation but at a 30 percent reduced capacity.  In the 
final days of the strike, the ports in Casablanca 
and Agadir reportedly stopped all loading and 
unloading of goods.  Business owners demanded that 
the GOM assume responsibility for storage fees at 
the ports.  The American company Proctor and Gamble 
informed the Consulate General that its factories in 
Casablanca and Mohammedia had ceased operation since 
April 13 due to a shortage of raw material that were 
blocked at the port of Casablanca. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
----------- 
Union Politics: Pay No Attention to that Man behind 
the Curtain 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
----------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Karim Ghelleb, the Minister of Transport 
from the Istiqlal party, faced with crushing 
economic costs quickly sought to defuse tensions by 
proposing meetings with the unions, a suggestion 
which was rejected out of hand.  Minister Ghelleb 
has come under intense criticism from the press and 
has received little public support from his party. 
Prime Minister Fassi met with representatives of the 
trade unions on the evening of April 13 and offered 
to withdraw the draft law to allow for further 
review.  By April 14 gasoline deliveries resumed 
thanks to security forces escorting the tankers to 
the service stations.  On the same day, the police 
moved to restore order by unblocking Casablanca's 
main inter-city bus station and principal avenues by 
towing cars and arresting strikers.  Preliminary 
reports from union and business contacts indicate 
that the strike was suspended on April 15. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Mohammed Ansar, an Istiqlal party 
representative in the upper house of parliament, 
complained publicly that he did not understand the 
union's decision to strike given that the new 
traffic code has been under discussion for the past 
two years and has undergone more than 267 amendments 
and concessions.  Mustapha Bakkoury, the General 
Director of the Deposit and Management Fund (Caisse 
de Depot et de Gestion) a quasi-public investment 
firm, told the Consul General that the government 
had brought on board all of the large unions before 
moving forward with the traffic reforms.  According 
to Bakkoury, it was the small unions, who were not 
included in the government negotiations, which 
provoked the strike.  As the strike gained momentum 
among drivers, the large confederations felt obliged 
to add their support lest they lose popularity in 
the run up to next month's union delegate elections. 
This May, for the first time in six years, laborers 
will vote for their union delegates.  The outcome 
will determine the proportional representation of 
the five largest unions which represent the workers 
in collective bargaining talks with the government 
and the business community. 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Moroccan labor unions have been 
criticized by the Moroccan press for being weak, 
undemocratic and self-serving.  They are undoubtedly 
no longer the major social force they were in the 
1980s and labor strikes in recent years have been 
fractured, short-lived, and ineffective.  It is 
unfortunate that this strike, which has rattled the 
government, has targeted much-needed road reforms. 
It appears that the large trade federations rushed 
to appease their members for the short-term 
political expediency of the upcoming elections 
rather than uphold their commitments to the 
government. 
MILLARD