Jebel Aouam mine
The workers are striking and occupying the mine because the management of Compagnie Minière de Touissit (CMT) failed to implement an agreement signed with IndustriALL affiliate l’Union Marocaine du travail (UMT) in 2019. The agreement, signed in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment and of the local authority, guaranteed improved living conditions, better working conditions inside the mine, and the provision of occupational health and safety measures.
Workers agreed a productivity target at the mine, which produces silver, gold, lead and zinc. The workers met the productivity target, but management failed to honour its side of the agreement. After continued failure by management to meet its obligations, and failure by the Ministry and local authorities to intervene, the UMT members were forced to take the desperate action of going on strike and staging an underground sit-in.