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Last week the Congress of the Moroccan trade union UMT (Union Marocain du Travail) met in Casablanca. In the immediate aftermath of terrorist attacks in Tunisia, with the gains of the Arab Spring under pressure and with national workplace elections about to begin for workplace councils in each company worksite, the mood was determined and optimistic.

In particular the one campaign that has caught everyone`s attention is the campaign in the relatively new and dynamic Contact Centre sector. Morocco is now unofficially nick named `the contact centre capital of Europe` with more and more French enterprises moving their business from France to offer French speaking services to the world. Officially 70,000 Contact Centre workers will vote in the elections for their representatives on works councils in every centre. Unofficially the government calculate that there are approximately 100,000 workers in the sector and that this is still rising.

Many of these companies are based in off shore sites, purpose built by the Government and offering 5 tax free years to companies that relocate there. One is `Casanearshore` in Casablanca. There are 10,000 workers in this complex working for a variety of companies, with modern buildings, plazas and plenty of restaurants and amenities. It has the look and the atmosphere of a modern university campus. But the whole site is surrounded by security and barriers, with access by swipe card only. The workers complain of long hours, unpaid work and a lack of respect at work.

UMT has created its own Federation of Contact Centre workers and is focusing much of its energy and resources into winning the fight for union recognition in the sector. They are required, under law, to win 7% of the 70,000 votes in order to be granted national access to social dialogue discussions with the government and the employer`s representatives. Much tougher, they are required to win 35% of the places on each works council to be granted union recognition at that site. The last target in particular is a tough target.

The workforce itself is overwhelmingly young and white collar and 56% female. In the last elections UMT – by far the biggest union in this sector – won only 13.5% of votes across all industries and sectors. The UMT know that they are starting from a much lower base than even that.

However, UMT is determined to break through. They have a young leadership in the sector and a network of activists in many of the companies. Between now and the elections they have targeted companies, numbers and sites. They have set a comprehensive training programme on the elections, with briefings on the legal and procedural issues, organising training for all activists and plans for other activities to win the votes. They have negotiated support and assistance from both UNI Global Union and the U.S. Solidarity Centre (AFL _ CIO) and all 3 organisations are working closely together to win the elections in June.