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The ITF has put forward Moroccan trade unionist Said Elhairech as a nominee for the Febe Elisabeth Velasquez prize, an international award recognising those who take personal risks to defend trade union rights in their countries.
Elhairech, who is general secretary of the Moroccan Ports Union (UMT), was freed from prison in October last year after a 10-month incarceration relating to unfounded charges of sabotage and endangering national security. The ITF believes that the real motivation for Said’s imprisonment was his union activism and involvement in a number of high profile union cases in Morocco, including defending the rights of stranded seafarers following the bankruptcy of the Comarit-Comanav ferry company.
Despite the majority of charges against Said being dropped on his release, this week he has been unexpectedly handed a one-year jail sentence which he is now appealing. His colleague, Mohamed Chamchati, the general secretary of the Moroccan merchant seafarers’ union, is also appealing after being sentenced to two and a half years in jail.
The Febe Elisabeth Velasquez award is organised every two years by Dutch trade union the FNV and is named after an El Salvadorean union leader murdered in 1989. In proposing Said for it the ITF stated: ‘Said Elhairech has been an active and dedicated trade unionist for the whole of his working life. He has dedicated his time and effort to the advancement of trade union rights in Morocco where workers can still face oppression and intimidation for exercising their fundamental right to organise.
‘Said put his freedom on the line in order to protect and promote the rights of others.
‘Despite his ordeal, Said’s commitment and dedication to the trade union cause has not waned. Since his release from jail in October 2012 Said has attended numerous union meetings. His story, his experience, his spirit and his dedication are helping to inspire activists and trade union leaders and to raise the profile of trade union work to a wider audience. But he is again under threat.
‘Said is an inspiring leader who has shown selflessness and lifelong dedication to his trade union colleagues and the pursuit of fair and just treatment for workers.
Visit the Free Said page for more on this campaign.