Guardian Council Rejects Salary Cap for Managers Again

Abbasali Kadkhodai announced on Wednesday, March 9, that the Guardian Council has once again raised objections to the provision of Article 38 of the Sixth Development Plan related to mechanisms to prevent the brain drain from the country. According to ISNA, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council stated that the salary cap for the country's managers has been rejected again by this council. Abbasali Kadkhodai emphasized: "Given the lack of correction of the council's objections in Article 38 of the Sixth Development Plan and the parliament's insistence on the same previous provision, the Guardian Council's objection to the provision remains, and it was not approved in last night's meeting of the Guardian Council members, and the matter will be communicated to the parliament as soon as possible." Last week, the Iranian parliament set the salary cap for managers at 24 million tomans within the framework of the Sixth Development Plan. Following this provision, conservative groups and figures have strongly criticized the determination of the 24 million toman salary cap for the managers of Iran's three branches of government. The spokesperson for the Guardian Council also stated on Friday that the Guardian Council has raised objections to the parliament's provision regarding managers' salaries. He mentioned that this provision "would lead to the exit of some specialists and elites" from the country and "would disrupt the country's administrative system," and "for this reason, it was deemed contrary to the Constitution." Following the Guardian Council's objection, Iranian parliament representatives revised their previous provision regarding the salaries of public employees and managers in the Sixth Development Plan on Saturday, March 14, and reduced the salary cap for managers. According to the new provision, the salary cap for public employees and managers is set to just over 12 million tomans per month. Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, reacted to the conservatives' opposition to the set salary, stating: "Some gentlemen who made these remarks, I do not want to name, have a history in the parliament and their earnings from the parliament exist. They should not wash the prayer rug so much, and I know how they were." He accused these individuals of causing "hubbub" and told them, "It is not the case that you speak against the elections and no one says anything to you." The Speaker of the Parliament also added: "So why do you not say anything to the Guardian Council, while the Guardian Council is the cause of it... They must be afraid of their disqualifications." The issue of government managers' salaries has faced criticism from conservatives and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in recent months. In this context, conservatives have called the parliament's provision for the 24 million toman salary for managers "shameful."