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Saudi airline attempts to quash Moroccan aviation workers’ union
21 January 2010
A Saudi airline is attempting to suppress a trade union established by its aviation employees based in Morocco.
Management at Saudi Arabian Airlines in Morocco has threatened workers with dismissal if they refuse to sign a petition demanding the dissolution of a union they established in June last year. The union, Syndicate of Saudi Arabian Airlines Workers in Morocco, is a subsidiary of the ITF-affiliated Federation Nationale du Transport Aerien.
The airline took the heavy-handed anti-union steps after the union stated that, as it operated in Morocco, Saudi Arabian Airlines was subject to provisions outlined in the Moroccan fair labour standards act and laws guaranteeing trade union rights. The company had been falsely claiming that it enjoyed “diplomatic status” exempting it from the labour laws governing Morocco.
The union reminded airline management that Moroccan law did not permit the dissolution of a union by means of a petition and prohibited employer interference in union affairs.
Bilal Malkawi, ITF Arab World office, said: “Workers should have the right of freedom of association regardless of the company they work for or their nationality. Transport workers in the Arab world will campaign and fight for their rights. They belong to the ITF; that is why they feel they are stronger.”
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