Pensions: Unions Raise Their Voices Against the Government’s Triad

As the 2025 deadline for overhauling Morocco’s pension system approaches, trade unions are making their voices heard with renewed clarity. While the government’s preferred options—increasing the retirement age, increasing contributions, and reducing pensions—are still on the table, they face clear opposition from the Democratic Labor Organization (ODT) and the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), which denounce a unilateral adjustment approach that exclusively impacts working and retired workers. Each in their own way, the two unions are proposing alternative paths, based, according to them, on social justice, transparency, and the preservation of purchasing power. The ODT was the first to outline its counterproposal in a document addressed to the Head of Government and the Minister of Economy and Finance. 
The diagnosis is stark: fragmented systems, a declining contributor-to-pensioner ratio, a cap on Social Security (CNSS) pensions at 6,000 Dirhams (USD 600), and a freeze on pension revaluations for over twenty-five years despite sustained inflation. The union also revisits the 2016 parametric reform implemented by the Benkirane government, which, according to the union, significantly reduced pensions without restoring the financial balance of the funds. It proposes a shift to a two-pronged system, public and private, designed to converge toward a unified base, extended to all active workers, including the self-employed. A minimum pension of 3,500 Dirhams (USD 350), legal indexation to inflation, the removal of the pension cap, and the creation of a national solidarity fund are at the heart of this architecture. For its part, the UMT took advantage of the meeting of the National Pensions Commission, held on July 17 in Rabat, to affirm its «categorical « rejection of the government’s scenario. Its secretary general, Miloudi Moukharik, denounced a « hellish triad «—raising the retirement age, increasing contributions, and reducing benefits—which perpetuates the idea that deficits are due to an excess of rights rather than poor governance. The UMT singles out in particular the management of reserves and the lack of transparency in their management, believing that the imbalances are largely attributable to these shortcomings rather than to an uncontrollable demographic shift. Its key demand: an immediate and widespread revaluation of pensions, across all sectors—public, local authorities, businesses, and the private sector—to ensure a decent standard of living for retirees. The two unions converge on several key points. The rejection of a strictly parametric reform, a denunciation of the sacrificial logic imposed on workers, and a demand for genuine social dialogue. The ODT insists on the need for a legal revaluation mechanism, based on the model of certain Latin American countries that have established automatic adjustments based on inflation. The UMT, more aggressive on the social front, warns of the loss of purchasing power of retirees, particularly those in the private sector, who are often exposed to fragmented pensions resulting from discontinuous careers. Faced with this dual pressure, the Executive is for the time being maintaining a balanced approach. The Head of Government reaffirmed his desire to achieve a participatory reform, integrated into the major social projects currently underway. At the last meeting, the Minister of the Economy, Nadia Fettah, presented a detailed overview of existing schemes and proposed a working methodology. A joint technical committee has been established to refine the scenarios, bringing together representatives from the government, unions, employers, and pension funds. The committee’s work is scheduled to begin in September. 

A. Bo