Marrakech Tourism Workers Protest, Demand COVID Aid Promised by Government

Since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the tourism sector in Morocco has been shaken. If hotel, restaurant and other owners complain about the gloom and the falling turnover, the other links in the chain such as cooks, pastry chefs, waiters, cleaners, are having a hard time making ends meet.

This is the reason for their gathering in front of the national tourism office. They demand the 2,000 DH promised by the government to tourism sector workers. "We have contacted the temp agencies who are our direct employers, but they slammed the door in our face, we then turned to the representatives of the Ministry of Tourism in Marrakech, but we have no answer despite our follow-ups. We feel abandoned," explains Said El Ouarraq, a hotel cook in Marrakech, reports l’Économiste.

Temporary workers in the hotel industry represent 50% of the sector’s workers. They are the first to suffer from the situation, since they have no status. The covid-19 pandemic has only further deepened the precariousness in which these workers live. "We were told that we were not concerned by the government aid. We are stunned by this contradictory information and we no longer know which saint to turn to. We have no leave, no bonuses, no social benefits like permanent employees. Our situation is very critical and no one wants to meet us to give us more information on our rights, this situation is suffocating," regrets Said El Ouarraq, the spokesman for these workers.

Zahra Gabardi is a cleaning lady. She explains that the situation is critical and deserves the attention of King Mohammed VI to allow these fathers and mothers to provide for their needs and take care of their respective families. "We are the neglected of the tourism sector, even if we contribute greatly to its development. We no longer have money to feed our children, to educate them, there are people who have sold their fridge, their armchairs, their tables to be able to eat... it’s dramatic, people are dying in general indifference," says Zahra Gabardi.

On the question, Abdellatif Kabbaj, president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT) said that 9,800 temporary workers spread across the national territory will benefit