A Labor Activist: The Gap Between Pensioners' Salaries and the Poverty Line Exceeds 20 Million Tomans

A labor pension activist spoke about the "suppression of wages" in recent years and the deep gap between wages and the poverty line, stating that "the gap between pensioners' salaries and the poverty line exceeds 20 million tomans," and the increase in the "minimum wage" has been ignored in relation to the "official inflation rate." According to ILNA news agency, Hossein Gholami, a labor pension activist, rejected the recent claim by Solat Mortazavi, the "Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare of the Islamic Republic," that "the salaries of workers and pensioners have been increased by more than the inflation rate and by 170 percent." He protested the claims of Islamic Republic officials, saying, "When the thirteenth government started its work, the gap between salaries and the poverty line was about 7.5 million tomans, but this gap has now reached more than 20 million tomans, meaning it has tripled." This labor activist stated that "the salary increases from 1401 to 1403 were 57 percent, 28 percent, and in the last year about 36 percent." He called Mortazavi's three-digit claim baseless and asked, "How could he extract the number 170 percent and more from those three figures!" Hossein Gholami emphasized that over the three years, "the gap between wages and the poverty line has increased exponentially" and has become larger each year. This labor pension activist explained that "in 1400, the salary increase was 40 percent, and the minimum wage and pension were 4 million and 100 thousand tomans; that year, the official inflation was also 40 percent, and the poverty line was around 10 or 11 million tomans." Gholami further added: "In 1401, the 57 percent increase raised the minimum wage and pension to about 5 or 6 million tomans, while that year's poverty line was around 15 million tomans or a little more." He described the current situation of workers' and pensioners' wages, stating: "In the 1403 wage negotiations, the minimum wage increased by about 36 percent while the official inflation at that time was over 45 percent," and added, "this official inflation was also ignored in salary increases." This labor pension activist considered the goods included in the official inflation to be beyond the purchasing power of workers and argued: "Salaried workers can only purchase food items, and the average inflation of food items is between 70 to 80 percent, so the inflation of workers' living costs is higher than the official inflation." Reports indicate a rise in severe livelihood problems for workers' families amidst previous statements by Solat Mortazavi, who on Khordad 8 regarding the minimum wage of workers said: "What is in the interest of the country, workers, and employers has been increased." The low level of wages, combined with the untimely payment of wages in various regions of Iran, has led to an increase in strikes and protests by workers in recent years. Some critics believe that the emphasis on Ali Khamenei's policies and their coercive implementation in society occurs while there is minimal attention to the livelihood issues of the people. A review of official statistics shows that in 1387, the misery index was over 35 percent and the inflation rate was 25.4 percent, which by the end of 1402 had risen to over 40 percent inflation and a misery index exceeding 52 percent.