A Labor Official: Wages Cover Only 10 Days of Living; A Government Official: No News on Wage Adjustment

The head of the Islamic Labor Councils of the country criticized the ongoing inflation and pointed to the livelihood crisis of workers, stating that workers' wages barely cover 10 days of living. On the other hand, the Deputy Minister of Labor poured cold water on workers’ hopes, stating that wages will not be adjusted. Olia Ali-Beygi, the head of the Islamic Labor Councils, referred to the labor community's request for a review of wages and expressed expectations from the Supreme Labor Council and the government’s economic team to consider the livelihood concerns of workers. Alongside these statements, statistics released by the Statistical Center of Iran indicate that inflation continued to rise in Mordad (August), reaching an annual rate of 46.7%. Yazd was recorded as the province with the highest inflation at 50.9%. Food inflation has also continued to rise, with red meat inflation exceeding 90% despite a significant drop in demand. This livelihood situation and the statements from labor activists come as the Deputy Minister of Labor indirectly claims that workers' wages have been determined fairly and that no adjustments will be made. Ali Hossein Ra'iti-Fard stated that the Labor Law mentions that wages should be determined based on the inflation rate and the livelihood basket, but it does not specify that wages should be determined exactly based on these two factors. In recent days, Ra'iti had also declared the wage increase in recent years as an achievement for the government. However, Ra'iti's recent statements faced backlash from ILNA news agency, which reported on Sunday, September 5, that during the two years of Ebrahim Raisi's government, inflation of at least 250% has been imposed on people's living expenses, and workers' wages are one-third of the poverty line. In this context, the news agency criticized the Deputy Minister of Labor's opposition to the increase in the minimum wage, noting that despite the inflation of essential goods and the wage gap with the poverty line, officials declare the 87% wage increase over two years as an 'achievement.' 'Wage adjustment' was a promise made by the Minister of Labor when determining the wage increase amount to labor representatives, but Soulat Mortazavi rejected any promise for wage review after workers' requests. In response to this situation, workers filed a complaint with the Administrative Justice Court, which also rejected the workers' complaint, stating that the determination of the wage for the year 1402 was in accordance with the law and that the workers' complaint was unfounded.