Life for Bread; 65% of Workers Earn Less than Minimum Wage, 76% of Injured Workers Were Uninsured

Reports published on the condition of workers indicate the very difficult circumstances this group faces in terms of wages and insurance, with one newspaper stating that 76% of those injured in workplace accidents in the year 1401 (2022) were uninsured, and a labor official has reported that 65% of workers are paid less than the minimum wage. The newspaper 'Karo Kargar', published in Tehran, reported today, Sunday, February 18, that according to the Social Security Organization, 455 deaths due to workplace accidents were reported last year, but forensic statistics recorded 1900 workers in the year 1401, indicating that 76% of workers who died from workplace accidents were uninsured. This newspaper also emphasized that the number of injured workers due to workplace accidents in forensic statistics is 6.7 times higher, and the number of fatalities from workplace accidents is 4.18 times higher than the statistics from the Social Security Organization, indicating that a significant portion of workplace accidents occurred to workers who were deprived of social security insurance. In such circumstances, an inspector from the Supreme Assembly of Workers' Representatives has also stated that 35% of workers receive only the base salary, without any benefits. According to Hamid-Reza Imam-Qolitabaar, about 35% of 96% of temporary contracts do not benefit from job advantages. These statistics come at a time when some experts believe that the government and the private sector are also seeking wage suppression, which could endanger the livelihoods of these individuals. The government and parliament, with the approval of the Guardian Council, have considered a 20% increase in the salaries of employees and retirees, which has fueled the possibility of a 20% increase in the minimum wage for workers. Meanwhile, workers are currently suffering from several years of wage lag, and the increase in the minimum wage has not been able to cover rising prices. This year, while the minimum wage has increased by 27%, last year's inflation was over 45%, and in the past year, the inflation of food, medicine, and housing has been at least twice the overall inflation. Unsafe workshops are a death trap for workers; the deaths and injuries of '11 workers' in five days continue the deadly workplace incidents in Iran; the death of a welder and a poultry farmer; the injury of 7 workers in an explosion at a melting pot in a metal industry factory in Saveh; a fire in a cosmetics factory left more than 50 injured; over a thousand workers have been killed in workplace accidents in six months; lack of safety continues to claim workers' lives; the death of a worker due to falling from a building; cheap lives in Iran! A union official: widespread deaths of construction workers due to bone and lung problems.