Moroccan Pilots Threaten Strike Over Royal Air Maroc Layoffs

During a consultation organized on August 31 by the Moroccan Association of Airline Pilots (AMPL), 308 members out of 469 voted to file a strike notice in the event of Royal Air Maroc (RAM)’s refusal to immediately reinstate the 65 pilots recently laid off, AMPL said in a statement. The results of the ballot counting organized on September 2 indicate that 76 votes against, 7 blank votes, 78 abstentions were recorded.

Similarly, the pilots voted to "reduce their own remuneration to the extent of the savings on the wage bill resulting from the layoffs pronounced by RAM". According to AMPL, the amount of this salary reduction is 400 million dirhams spread over three years.

This is the proposal that the association wants to make to RAM management "in order to initiate a responsible and peaceful dialogue with a view to canceling the economic layoffs and proceeding with the reinstatement of the laid-off pilots".

If this proposal does not receive its assent, the association will file a strike notice "within the time limits set by AMPL, the date of which would be set later depending on the evolution and events of the national health context".

On the RAM side, a source told Le360 that this decision has not yet been notified to the company’s administration. "Once this is the case, it will be studied, and the company will communicate accordingly," the source added.