Head of Labor Faction in Parliament: Workers' Tables Are Empty; Government Should Provide 'Essential Goods' to Workers

The head of the Labor Faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly stated that the Islamic Republic government must deliver '15 essential goods' to workers through electronic vouchers, coupon systems, or even non-electronic means at 'approved prices'. Ali Babaei Karanami, head of the Labor Faction, told the ILNA news agency that 'workers' tables' are 'empty' due to the current inflation situation in the country, and the government of Ebrahim Raisi must take action to provide essential goods. He announced that today, workers and seven deciles of society are facing difficulties in securing their 'family expense basket', claiming that the poverty line in the country is '15 million tomans', and anyone earning less than this amount is 'in trouble'. This statement regarding the 'poverty line' comes as Faramarz Tofighi, a labor activist, stated in Ordibehesht that the 'cost of living' in cities has reached '21 million tomans' per month. Additionally, Mohammad Baqeri-Banaei, a member of the Economic Commission of the Parliament, emphasized in Khordad that the number of people below the poverty line has increased, stating that the poverty line in Tehran has reached '30 million tomans'. Ali Babaei Karanami, a member of the Social Commission of the Parliament, pointed out that during the decision-making process regarding wages, the 'Ministry of Labor effectively sides with employers, as the government itself is the largest employer'. The Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly previously announced that the poverty line has increased from '19 percent' to over '30 percent' over the past decade. Despite numerous protests regarding the minimum wage and salary conditions for workers since the end of last year, the Secretariat of the Supreme Labor Council, affiliated with the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, announced on Khordad 24 in response to a formal letter from labor members of this council for 'wage restoration', its opposition to increasing the minimum wage for workers covered by labor law. Currently, the minimum wage received by workers covered by the Islamic Republic's labor law, who also benefit from additional payments for being 'married and having children', is about 'eight million tomans' per month. Ahmad Alavi, an economist in Stockholm, Sweden, also told the Persian section of Voice of America that the severe increase in inflation in society has consequences such as a decrease in household purchasing power, which in turn reduces 'the dignity, value, and status of the household'.