Moroccans stage rallies against government

Thousands of labor union members and trainee teacher have staged separate rallies in Morocco to protest corruption and government decisions that affect their job security.

More than 1,000 members of the powerful UMT labor union (the General Union of Moroccan Workers) took to the streets of the capital Rabat on Sunday, calling for immediate government measures against corruption.

The protesters said they have grown “fed up” with the squandering of public funds by the government, saying state corruption has become rampant in Morocco.

A separate demonstration was held in the city later on Sunday with more than 2,000 trainee teachers gathering outside the parliament to demand better work conditions. The trainee teachers were specifically angry at recent government decrees that would cut grants and affect their job prospects.

Anti-government chants were heard during the rallies, many of them reminiscent of the slogans that echoed during the Islamic Awakening movement that spread throughout Arab countries of the North Africa region some six years ago.

“Liberty, dignity, social justice,” chanted the protesters.

“The government has scorned us for months and our future is uncertain,” said a protest organizer, adding that the anti-government rallies would be followed by similar protests in the coming days.