Labor and Retiree Organizations: The Government Has No Base Among Workers

Several labor and retirees' organizations in Iran announced in a joint statement on Tuesday, January 24, that the Islamic Republic has lost its base among workers and wage earners due to its incorrect and anti-labor policies in all areas. They warned that 'the government's policy regarding wages will be even worse than in previous years,' and as a result of wage suppression by the government, 'the dimensions of the catastrophe will increase further and we will be closer to the edge of the abyss.' In the joint statement by the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate, the Retirees' Union, the Coordination Committee to Help Establish Labor Organizations, and several retired workers from Khuzestan province, it was noted that 'the working class of Iran bears the main burden of the country's production' and 'is the producer of a large part of social wealth, and the wheels of the economy are set in motion by its labor.' They added: 'The working class has the right to at least enjoy the average welfare of society, and its wage, which is the only income of this class, must at least cover the living expenses of an average urban family at the national level.' The signatories demanded that workers' wages be calculated based on the average living costs of urban households and added: if the number of members in a working-class family receiving the minimum wage is four, this wage should at least cover the living expenses of this four-member working-class family according to the average costs of a four-member urban household at the national level. According to two clauses of Article 41 of the Islamic Republic's Labor Law, the minimum monthly wage of workers must be determined based on the inflation rate and the monthly living costs of a working-class household in the High Labor Council. Activists and labor organizations have repeatedly criticized how the government calculates the inflation rate, emphasizing that the minimum wage is not determined based on monthly living costs. Currently, according to official statistics, the monthly living costs in major cities range from 32 to 37 million tomans. However, the signatory organizations believe that 'the average cost of a four-member urban household in the year 1403 is about 40 to 45 million tomans per month.' Meanwhile, the minimum monthly wage for workers subject to labor law, married with children, is about 11 million tomans. In this context, according to the Shafaqna website, Omid Nasibi, a member of the Council and Interior Affairs Commission in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated on Tuesday that 'in the current inflationary conditions, employees and workers face serious problems in covering housing and living expenses,' adding: 'If inflation is not controlled, even a 50% increase in wages will not improve people's livelihoods.' Recently, it was announced that employee salaries would increase by 20% next year, while some reports indicate that workers' wages will increase by a maximum of 30% next year. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate, the Retirees' Union, the Coordination Committee to Help Establish Labor Organizations, and several retired workers from Khuzestan province stated in their statement that the wages of Iranian workers are among the lowest in the world and lower than those of most neighboring and comparable countries. They pointed out the very high cost of living in Iran, adding: it is clear that the cost of living in the year 1404, based on the expected inflation rate for next year, will exceed 40 to 45 million tomans per month and will reach between 55 to 60 million tomans per month. The signatories believe that 'those who do not want to accept these realities or are unaware of living costs, which is very unlikely since they live in the same society and the rampant costs and inflation pressurize them every day and every hour, either believe that the living standards of workers should not only be lower than those of capitalists and other wealthy classes but should not even reach the average living standards in this existing society.' They called for 'independent labor organizations and active and progressive workers' to expand their struggle not only for wage increases but also for the right to class organization, the expansion of unions and labor associations, the defense of freedom of expression and political parties, the freedom of imprisoned workers and political prisoners, the removal of social deprivation, and opposition to the dismissal of workers. The statement emphasized: 'In such conditions, where the Islamic Republic has lost its base among the working class and the working masses of society due to its incorrect and anti-labor policies in all areas, the united struggle of workers, teachers, youth, women, farmers, retirees, nurses, and the hardworking medical staff, and all oppressed classes is of vital importance.' In recent years, protests by workers, teachers, retirees, and other wage earners have been on the rise, and they chant slogans against government policies in their gatherings. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic has attempted to prevent the expansion of protests in Iran through security and judicial measures.