The Moroccan government says it wants to ‘differentiate’ the country
from other emerging markets by gaining a reputation for high workplace
standards in human rights, environmental impact and other respects. The
new policy has been driven partly by trade agreements with the US
and the European Union that demand improved labour and environmental
standards, but Morocco also sees it as a way of attracting the growing
number of European companies and investors sensitive to such issues. It
may also compensate for wage rates that are higher than in other parts
of the developing world.
In particular, the government says portraying Morocco as a socially
responsible place for companies and investors to operate in should
‘present an opportunity for the country to position itself apart from
countries such as China’.
To provide a framework, the government has introduced a labour code
based on international conventions, child labour controls, legislation
improving workplace rights for women, disabled people and trade
unionists, and anti-corruption laws. Most of the $2.5billion (£1.4bn)
of foreign investment in Morocco during the past year has come from
France, Spain and the UK, where social responsibility is now a business
issue.
One of Morocco’s strongest sectors is textiles and leather, which
employs two per cent of the workforce, but the country wants to attract
investment in motor manufacturing, aeronautics, call centres, telecoms,
agribusiness, electronics and tourism. Last month it devoted the entire
two days of its annual Investing in Morocco conference to socially
responsible business topics. Investors and companies from all over the
world discussed topics such as benchmarking of companies and how SRI
can aid development.
Rachid Talbi Alami, the economic affairs and trade minister, told EP:
‘This is partly as a result of increased pressure from investors, but
also a way of getting Morocco to stand out from the crowd. It’s an
ambitious idea and a little bit strange for an emerging market, but if
we want to find a new position for Morocco we have to prepare
ourselves. There is growing pressure from abroad on SRI, but this is
our own choice, made largely from internal pressure. We are at the
beginning of an explosion of investment in Morocco, so we want to
control it and avoid it having a negative impact on society.’
The government has begun working with the rating agency Vigeo to
benchmark 50 leading companies on their CSR performance and is
considering an official social labelling scheme for some products.
However, the new policy may not be embraced by all. Jassim al Manai,
chairman of the Arab Monetary Fund, told the investment conference that
it could work against the country’s interests. ‘Developing countries
like Morocco are desperate for any investment and do not have the
luxury of being picky,’ he said. ‘You have to be careful with this
subject as it can give the wrong signals and put off the investors you
are trying to attract.’
Kerdoudi Jawad, president of the Moroccan Institute of International
Relations, claimed many Moroccan business people felt socially
responsible business practices should be ‘a concern of developed
countries, not developing ones’. He said: ‘We should not have any
additional constraints that would reduce investment in our countries.’
