Covid-19: CNDH Calls for Respecting Workers' Human Rights

Rabat - The National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) called on the government and employers to ensure respect for the human rights of workers, users and all those involved in a workplace or public service, particularly in the post-quarantine period. In its "call for a commitment to human rights in working environments after the lifting of quarantine entitled: diligent companies for a resilient society", the Council urged the government to honor its obligations to protect human rights and to hold companies and administrations responsible for violations linked to their activities, especially at a time when the working environment has been the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. It also invited it to ensure that economic compensation measures target as a priority the most vulnerable people and that they include clear and applicable conditions to avoid providing aid to businesses without social compensation and to include, in support plans, social protection measures for those who have lost their income due to the crisis. It also encouraged companies to assume their responsibilities in terms of respecting human rights during this period, notably respecting the right to paid holidays of workers and employees, to provide them with safe working procedures and to modify working hours to respect social distancing.

According to the council, companies are also called upon to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic by avoiding collective layoff and the loss of benefits package, to maintain contracts with suppliers, to be attentive to the most vulnerable people, and to join hands with the State to meet the immediate health and financial needs of workers. It also recommended that companies maintain a social dialogue with workers' and employees' representatives in order to negotiate not only safety and hygiene conditions, but also recovery and support plans for companies to ensure their efficiency and social equity.