Criticism of Wage Plan Based on Profession and Province: Tensions Will Increase

Criticism of the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare's plan to determine wages 'based on profession and province' continues. In the latest reaction, the head of the Union of Contract and Temporary Workers pointed out the support of employers for Ahmad Maidari, stating that the implementation of this plan 'will increase tensions.' Ahmad Maidari, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, announced on March 1 that 'we are more focused on professional wages,' claiming that 'regional wages have problems, but professional wages are feasible, and we give provinces the authority to sit with a profession on the rate we set nationally and, if agreed, accept it for that specific province, meaning a combination of professional and provincial considerations will be taken into account.' This minister of Masoud Pezeshkian's government stated in January that 'working conditions in different industries vary,' and said: 'It is not correct to determine the minimum wage based on the minimum cost of living and inflation; this figure should be determined based on the level of work difficulty in different industries.' He mentioned in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that this initiative will start next year from the mining sector. The Minister's remarks, which have so far been met with silence from Masoud Pezeshkian, were made at a time when two clauses of Article 41 of the Labor Law emphasize that workers' wages should be determined based on inflation rates and the cost of living for a household. Additionally, see: A labor activist: The cost of living for a household is 70 million tomans per month. Nevertheless, the Supreme Labor Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran has so far refrained from considering the second clause of Article 41 of the Labor Law for determining workers' wages. ILNA news agency reported on Wednesday, March 6, regarding Ahmad Maidari's remarks: 'In recent days, various comments have been made by different officials and government and professional figures regarding the proposal to review or establish professional wages, which, as the minimum wage determination for the controversial year 1404 approaches, has created doubt among workers and social security retirees about the policies of the fourteenth government.' According to this report, a significant number of employer representatives in various provinces of Iran 'have emphasized the necessity of determining the minimum wage for industries and units in support of the Minister of Labor.' ILNA cited the words of Samad Hassan Zadeh, the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, who claimed: 'The mechanism of the Supreme Labor Council for determining the minimum wage is outdated and needs to be revised... It is necessary to change the model for determining the minimum wage and set a minimum wage for each specialized occupational group.' In this context, Sadegh Kargar, a union activist in Norway, told Voice of America: 'The government is looking for the opportunity to eliminate the determination of the minimum wage by the Supreme Labor Council and make it dependent on an agreement between workers and employers.' He noted that in the past year, government and employer representatives alone decided on wages and increased them by 20 percent less than the official inflation rate, emphasizing: 'Professionalizing wage increases is actually aimed at lowering the general wage level.' Mr. Kargar stated that 'the lack of appropriate wage increases is part of the regime's main policies, and whoever becomes Minister of Labor from any faction must implement it,' adding: 'This has been the case for years, and there is no difference between Maidari, a reformist, and Solati, a supporter of stability. That is why Maidari has announced an increase in wages close to the inflation rate.' Meanwhile, Fathollah Bayat, the head of the Union of Contract and Temporary Workers, criticized the professional wage plan and the timing of its proposal while workers and wage earners are waiting for their rights to be restored, telling ILNA: 'In this bad economic situation, superficial issues are raised that only increase tensions. Therefore, we request that if there is a scientific basis for proposing the determination of professional and industrial wages, it should be postponed to the beginning of next year and after the negotiations for increasing the minimum wage, and be reviewed and critiqued by social partners from the very beginning of the year.' He warned of the 'widespread negative consequences' resulting from the rush to approve such a plan, pointing out: 'Employers have taken shelter behind this idea to divert the wage negotiation process,' adding: 'They know that after two years of wage freeze under the pretext of inflation and the approval of a minimum wage less than the inflation rate, many of their excuses for preventing real wage increases for workers have been exhausted.' Fathollah Bayat added: 'Some workers in industries suffer significant physical and mental harm due to their work, and their right to a wage is much more than the current level, and they are entitled to this compared to other workers, but the law provides other pathways for these industries, such as hardship and hazardous work laws or job classification. ' He emphasized: We would be very happy if workers in mines, workers in specific oil and energy industries who work under difficult conditions, and skilled and specialized workers receive higher wages or that workers in dangerous sectors should earn much more, but we cannot deviate from the minimum wage across all industries and units. We must maintain the structure for determining the minimum wage and consider it, and if we want to help make wages fairer, in addition to determining the minimum wage, we should consider advantages for specific workers and special industries.