12 Million Iranian Workers Employed on Temporary Contracts

On Tuesday, July 16, Fathollah Bayat, head of the Union of Contractual and Temporary Workers, announced that 12 million workers in Iran are employed under temporary contracts. According to the Mehr News Agency, Bayat referred to what he called the 'disordered state of labor contracts' and added, 'Currently, over 13 million insured workers are active in social security, of which about 12 million have temporary and contractual agreements.' He noted that a significant portion of temporary contracts are for a maximum duration of 3 to 6 months and added, 'Unfortunately, the number of these contracts is on the rise.' He stated that about 4% of the remaining workers with permanent contracts are older workers nearing retirement. The ISNA news agency reported on April 10, 2015, citing labor market experts, that 'Before the Islamic Revolution, 90% of labor contracts were permanent, but due to an unbalanced economic structure and the existence of a rent-seeking economy, today permanent contracts have been replaced by temporary ones.' In this context, Bayat told Mehr that temporary contracts began to grow in 1995. Previously, labor activists and unions in Iran criticized temporary contracts, stating that this type of contract jeopardizes workers' ability to enjoy a dignified and stress-free life. These organizations have called for the abolition of temporary contracts, stating that workers under these agreements are deprived of many benefits of labor law. In this regard, the head of the Union of Contractual and Temporary Workers announced that 'the justification for the easy dismissal of labor' is the main reason for temporary labor contracts, stating, 'Moreover, the surplus of labor compared to supply has led to an increase in the workforce because employers can easily hire new workers after dismissing existing ones.' According to Bayat, the consequence of this situation is workers yielding to employers' demands. He pointed out that due to the growth and development of temporary contracts, 'the quality of work, productivity levels, and competitive production have decreased' and added that with the rise of temporary contracts, 'human dignity and motivational measures for labor, such as training, health, housing, etc., are neglected.' ISNA had noted in its April 10, 2015 report that a large portion of complaint cases in arbitration boards relate to temporary labor contracts, and according to labor activists, most workers refrain from suing employers due to fear of unemployment or threats of dismissal. ISNA added, 'According to statistics, at least four out of every ten cases of labor disputes are related to blank signature contracts. Therefore, representatives of labor groups are striving to organize labor contracts as soon as possible and to eliminate temporary and blank signature contracts.' According to Mehr, Bayat noted that a significant part of the disorder in labor contracts can be resolved by 'reforming Clause 1 of Article 7 of the Labor Law,' adding, 'The least that can be done in this regard is to ensure that contracts for jobs that are continuous and permanent are established permanently with workers.' Based on this clause, the maximum temporary duration for jobs that are non-continuous must be prepared by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. Previously, following criticisms of temporary labor contracts, Ahmad Mohseni, Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, announced the preparation of a regulation to determine the 'maximum temporary duration' for jobs of a non-continuous nature in line with the implementation of Clause 1 of Article 7 of the Labor Law.