Member of the Supreme Labor Council: A Mafia Group Interferes in Worker Wage Determination

Ali Khodaei, a 'worker member' of the Supreme Labor Council, spoke on a live television program on Sunday night, June 7, about a 'mafia group' disguised as a charity organization in Isfahan that is 'interfering and influencing wage determination meetings for workers.' He pointed out that this charity has been inserting its anti-labor agenda into the seventh development plan for years, emphasizing that 'these anti-labor movements have long taken the podium and are working against labor law.' Although Ali Khodaei did not mention the name of this organization, the ILNA news agency had previously referred to the 'Nazr Eshteghal Imam Hossein' organization, which considers labor law to be influenced by communist thought and claims that it has numerous religious objections. This organization also emphasizes the need for negotiated wages instead of establishing a minimum wage. The presence of charities and NGOs in Iran's economy has exacerbated discrimination against workers due to a lack of oversight and the existence of both overt and covert systemic relationships. The 'Asr Tashakkol' website reported in a piece titled 'Exploitation of Target Groups by Charity Organizations in the Name of Entrepreneurship' that many charities, even those without permits, have engaged in entrepreneurship with the involvement of volunteers and benefactors. It also reported widespread violations in these organizations, stating, 'We do not have accurate information on how many individuals, for example, people with disabilities or female heads of households, are employed in such organizations.' Critics believe that the operations and exploitation of vulnerable individuals under the auspices of supportive organizations, including welfare organizations, have ultimately led to the influence of these organizations in efforts to change labor law. This issue is clearly seen in the seventh development plan, particularly in Article 16, which allows employers to pay 'special condition individuals under the coverage of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and welfare organizations less than the minimum wage set for the year.' Additionally, prisoners introduced by the prison organization will also be included in this matter. If the bill is passed, it will undermine the minimum wage in favor of these organizations. The Jamearan website has also described the seventh development plan as an assault by the government and employers on labor law, stating, 'Since the approval of the labor law in support of workers in the 1980s, there have been many efforts by market economy advocates to nullify this law, to the extent that most contracts were made temporarily with the workforce. However, this proposal from the Planning and Budget Organization is the biggest assault against this supportive law.' Furthermore, Hossein Habibi, a member of the board of directors of the Islamic Labor Councils of the country, on Sunday, June 7, considered 'opposing the anti-labor laws of the seventh development plan a religious, national, and human duty,' stating that this program 'is entirely in service of the capitalist camp.' This board member emphasized, 'Payments below the minimum wage through contract will condemn the weak to fall into poverty, and the situation for the vulnerable segments of society will worsen significantly with the approval and issuance of these laws. Furthermore, this law will render Article 41 of the labor law even more ineffective.' He noted that increasing retirement age and experience, as addressed in Articles 66 and 67 of the development plan, 'indicates the government's helplessness in improving the status of pension funds and its reliance on workers to balance these funds.' Protests by workers in various regions of Iran continue in response to unpaid wages and benefits, the approval of the seventh development plan by the Islamic Republic government; a labor organization stated: 'It is against the lives of workers.' A report from the Parliament Research Center indicated that the inflation rate felt by the people is 86 percent. Continued arrests in South Pars; the Bushehr governorate announced that the 'second leader' of the workers' strike has been arrested. The likelihood of intensified protests remains as promises to control inflation fail; workers are seeking wage increases.