These agreements were initialed by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, the Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, Aouatif Hayar, the President of the National Union of Associations working in the Mental Disability (UNAHM), Nadia Atia, the Executive Director of Human Capital of Marjane Holding, Taha Benzekri, and the Director of Human Resources of Label’Vie, Ahmed Abbou.
The objective of this partnership is to support disabled people in their integration into the professional environment on a national scale in the medium and long term and to further anchor the inclusion of mental disabilities in Morocco.
This initiative is part of the High Royal Guidelines relating to the improvement of the conditions and rights of people with disabilities and the objectives of the New Development Model which plans to reduce social and territorial inequalities and to ensure the protection social status of vulnerable people.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Mezzour indicated that “this pilot operation testifies to our desire to offer inclusive and sustainable employability to people with mental disabilities (PSHM) in the trade and distribution sector”.
“It is up to us collectively, private companies and the public sector, to act in favor of the qualification, socio-professional integration and support of people with mental disabilities and to positively change the social representations linked to the mental disability in Morocco,” noted the minister.
For her part, Ms. Hayar stressed that in accordance with the royal guidelines of King Mohammed VI, “social inclusion is a major priority of the government aimed at promoting the rights of people with disabilities and other vulnerable social categories”.
Also, this agreement, she argued, “comes to decline a joint desire of us two Departments and our partners, to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities as equal citizens, enjoying the same rights as other citizens as stipulated in the constitution of the Kingdom”.
For his part, Mr. Benzekri underlined that Marjane Holding, an active player in the economic and social system in Morocco, has a role to play and a responsibility for the inclusion of people with disabilities. “We are convinced that a large company such as ours must set an example by introducing diversity into its management, it gives meaning to what we do every day,” he said.
Mr. Abbou affirmed, meanwhile, that the Label’Vie group is resolutely committed against discrimination and for the promotion of equal opportunities for people with disabilities, noting that the Group reaffirms, through this agreement, its desire to promote and enforce this commitment in all of its locations, by raising awareness among all stakeholders.
At the end of the agreement, the two leading groups in the trade and retail sector in Morocco undertake to offer socio-professional inclusion opportunities, through pre-hiring internships to a certain number of PSHM in the respect for the specificities related to their disabilities and the proper functioning of their business. It is also a question of monitoring and supporting the PSHM upstream and throughout their integration within the company.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, for its part, undertakes to facilitate this action of inclusion and awareness of the subject of PSHM and to ensure that the commitments of the various stakeholders are respected.
For the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, he undertakes to provide companies, UNAHM and associations with support in terms of orientation, training and to mobilize his experience and partners across the Moroccan territory.
Under this agreement, the UNAHM will strive to support the companies and associations concerned in the operational implementation of the socio-professional inclusion project, to ensure that the associations respect their commitments in terms of identification of the missions and tasks achievable by the PSHM and the follow-up of recruits upstream, during and after their integration into a socio-professional environment.