Moroccan Court Upholds Dissolution of Airline Pilots Association, Backing Royal Air Maroc

Another setback for the AMPL. The Casablanca Court of Appeal issued a ruling on Tuesday, June 29, confirming its dissolution, reports Médias24. This ruling upholds the judgment rendered at first instance in November 2020. Royal Air Maroc (RAM) had, through the Bassamat & Laraqui firm, filed a petition on September 9, 2020 for the dissolution of the AMPL and the nullity of all the agreements signed between it and the management of the Moroccan company. A request that the public prosecutor’s office had supported by filing a memorandum in which it requested the dissolution of the association.

It all started with a call for a strike launched by the association following the wave of layoffs initiated by RAM. The national airline had laid off 140 employees for economic reasons, which had provoked the anger of the airline pilots.

"The public call for a strike is an action exclusive to trade unions and does not fall within the scope of associations," the first instance judgment had concluded. It had criticized the AMPL for having violated its associative prerogatives. According to the law, "any association engaging in an activity other than that provided for in its statutes may be dissolved" (Article 36 of the dahir regulating the right of association), the court had specified.