'Bread, freedom, Palestine': On May Day, Moroccan unions march against Israel normalisation

Thousands of Moroccan workers flooded the streets of Rabat on Thursday waving Moroccan and Palestinian flags, turning a rally for workers' rights into a sweeping protest against the Gaza war, repression and Morocco's normalisation with Israel.

While demands for higher pay and secure jobs led the march, many protesters raised signs and chanted in support of Palestine.

Banners reading "No to normalisation" and "Workers support resistance" moved through the crowd along with images of Gaza and the victims of Israeli airstrikes.

Union members, many wearing keffiyehs, condemned Morocco's ties with Israel and expressed solidarity with Palestinians living through the war.

"We denounce the systematic genocide targeting all elements of life in Gaza", said Abdelilah Dahman, deputy secretary general of the National Union of Workers in Morocco (UNTM).

"We in the syndicate reject the continuation of normalisation and will remain on the path of supporting the Palestinian resistance," he added.

Idriss Azami of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), which was in power when Morocco signed the normalisation deal in 2020, saluted Palestinian workers and called for "the full liberation of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital".

The party, which lost most of its seats in the 2021 election, has since distanced itself from the agreement, now framing it as a state decision. Its leaders have sought to reconnect with supporters by returning to core issues, including Palestine.

Since Israel's latest war on Gaza began in October, popular opposition to normalisation in Morocco has grown. 

Trade unions, long focused on labour rights, have become some of the government's most vocal critics on maintaining ties with Tel Aviv during its genocide in Gaza. 

Last month, port workers' unions called for a boycott of two Maersk ships allegedly carrying US military cargo to Israel. The BDS movement said union pressure delayed the ships' passage, though it eventually docked.

Although Moroccan lawmakers and senior officials have condemned the war and demanded an immediate ceasefire, activists continue to push for stronger measures, starting with the closure of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat.

Yet anger in Thursday's protest extended well beyond foreign policy. Demonstrators decried the high cost of living, shrinking civic space, and draft law 97.15 — a legislation that would impose tight restrictions on the right to strike.

Some workers marched in symbolic shackles, mouths taped shut, wearing portraits of recently prosecuted journalists and activists. Others simply bore handwritten placards: "An oppressed Moroccan citizen."

Despite a heavy police presence, the protest remained peaceful, winding through Rabat's boulevards for hours to the beat of drums and the rhythmic call-and-response of chants against repression and normalisation.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT) described the day as a struggle for "bread, for freedom, and for justice beyond borders".

Negotiations between Morocco's government and the main unions have entered several rounds in recent months, but workers say little progress has been made.

The North Africa Center for Studies and Public Policy recently warned that labour relations in the kingdom are once again approaching a breaking point.

From the Casablanca bread riots of the 1980s to the 20 February movement in 2011, trade unions have long played a pivotal role in shaping Morocco's political landscape and, at times, in bringing down governments.

"We're here to stand against injustice from Morocco to Palestine. (...) And to say no to normalisation with the Zionists," Khaled Satti, a unionist, said in a statement during the rally.