Noubir Amaoui (Arabic: مُحمَّد نوبير الأُموي; November 1935 – 7 September 2021) was a Moroccan trade unionist.[1][2] He founded the Democratic Confederation of Labour and served as its Secretary General from 1978 to 2018.
Noubir Amaoui | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 1935 |
| Died | 7 September 2021 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Moroccan |
| Occupation(s) | Trade unionist Schoolteacher |
Biography
editNoubir Amaoui was born in the village of Melgou in the region of Ben Ahmed in the Settat Province.[1][3] In 1975, Amaoui joined the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and founded its trade union, the Democratic Confederation of Labour, three years later. He was elected Secretary General of the Confederation on 26 November 1978. In June 1981, he called for a strike and was imprisoned following the Casablance bread riots. This helped to give him legitimacy within Moroccan trade unions. In 1992, in an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, he described Moroccan government ministers as a "gang of thieves". For this, he was sentenced for two months due to "insults and defamation" against authorities. He was pardoned by King Hassan II after fourteen months.[4]
In 2001, he founded the National Ittihadi Congress alongside his friend, Abdelmajid Bouzoubaâ.[5] In June 2011, following the Arab Spring, he called for a boycott of the 2011 Moroccan constitutional referendum, saying that "the draft Constitution strengthens what has always been in place in the past and does not answer not to what was promised".[6] In November 2018, he left his position as Secretary General of the Democratic Confederation of Labour after 40 years. He was replaced by Abdelkader Zaër.[7]
Noubir Amaoui died on 7 September 2021 at the age of 85.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Le cavalier de la Chaouia". Aujourd'hui le Maroc (in French). 24 December 2001. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Le grand syndicaliste Noubir Amaoui est mort". H24INFO.ma (in French). 7 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ El Rhazi, Anass (7 September 2021). "Grande émotion après le décès de Noubir Amaoui, grande figure de la gauche syndicale". Medias24 (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ "Libération de Noubir Amaoui". L'Humanité (in French). 13 July 1993. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ Mansour, Abdeltallif (26 October 2001). "Que pèse Noubir Amaoui ?". Maroc Hebdo (in French). Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Un syndicat marocain appelle au boycott du référendum". Lemag.ma (in French). 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ Laili, Kaoutar (25 November 2018). "À 83 ans, Noubir Amaoui cède sa place à la tête de la CDT à son adjoint". HuffPost Maghreb (in French). Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Haskouri, Khouloud (7 September 2021). "Iconic Leftist Activist Noubir Amaoui Dies, Aged 85". Morocco World News. Rabat. Retrieved 9 September 2021.