Minister of Labor Defends Apprenticeship Plan; Labor Activists Claim It Exploits Workers

Soulat Mortazavi, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, defended the so-called apprenticeship plan on Tuesday, August 1. Meanwhile, labor activists argue that this plan is intended to exploit workers. According to ILNA news agency, he emphasized the necessity of implementing this plan, stating: "We believe that this type of skill training through apprenticeship is not exploitation and, as workshop-based training, increases skills, productivity, and success for individuals in the job market after training." Previously, the state news agency IRNA referred to the apprenticeship plan on July 19 as a "targeted and effective" initiative. IRNA quoted Gholamali Rokhset, head of the Industry Commission of the Khorasan Razavi Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, stating that "business owners agree that it is a good plan aimed at creating sustainable employment." Mohammad Amin Babaei, the Director General of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare in Khorasan Razavi, also told IRNA: "Some organizations believe that this plan may lead to the exploitation of workers, while this plan is precisely aimed at increasing the skills of the workforce." In this context, according to ILNA, Gholamhossin Hosseini-Nia, Deputy Minister of Labor and Head of the Technical and Vocational Training Organization, described the implementation of the "modern apprenticeship plan" on March 8 of the previous year as "an effective step in developing the skill training movement" and "a significant service to youth and job creation." This is not the first time that officials of the Islamic Republic have sought to implement the apprenticeship plan. This plan was proposed during the presidencies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani, and they attempted to implement it, but due to widespread opposition from labor activists and organizations, as well as protests from workers, it was shelved. In 2012, during Ahmadinejad's presidency, the executive letter for the "modern apprenticeship training method" was approved by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare and sent to the Technical and Vocational Training Organization for implementation. The objectives of the "modern apprenticeship training method" included "creating the necessary infrastructure for productive and sustainable employment, in line with modern technologies" and "continuing and stabilizing existing jobs needed by society, especially in home-based and traditional jobs." Under this plan, apprentices were to be exempt from labor law and social security law for three years of on-the-job training. Additionally, it was stated that no wages would be paid to the apprentices. This plan faced widespread opposition that continued until January 2014, five months after Hassan Rouhani's presidency began, and no review was conducted by his government regarding this matter. In this context, according to Fars news agency, Arash Faraz, Secretary-General of the Supreme Assembly of Workers' Representatives, stated on January 3 of that year that six thousand workers had signed a petition opposing the apprenticeship plan. Behrouz Farahani, a member of the Socialist Solidarity Group with Workers in Iran, residing in Paris, told Voice of America: "The issue of the apprenticeship plan, which was raised during Ahmadinejad's era, has no goal other than reducing the wages of educated individuals entering the job market for the first time." He pointed out that "granting extensive powers to the master craftsman over the wage earner or apprentice imposes a very unequal relationship on the apprentice, effectively leaving them defenseless, and also legalizes the payment of wages below the minimum wage." This labor activist equated such a plan to "legalized forced labor" within the framework of the lawlessness governing employer-employee relations in Iran, adding that this has not gone unnoticed by Iranian labor activists, and Reza Shahabi, in a letter from prison regarding this plan in the seventh development program, referred to it as labor slavery. Mr. Farahani emphasized that "such actions demonstrate the awareness of this category of labor rights activists in Iran," adding that even among "government-affiliated organizations, such as the Workers' House," there have been objections, with some representatives referring to this plan as "exploitative and inhumane." He noted the "initial retreat of the government" and the removal of articles related to the apprenticeship plan from the seventh development program, attributing this action to "the atmosphere of protest among workers." The government of Ebrahim Raisi proposed in Article 15 of this bill that the wages of newly hired workers be equivalent to half of the monthly minimum wage, and the seniority of new employees be calculated based on half. The monthly minimum wage for workers subject to labor law, married with children, is about 8 million tomans per month, while statistics indicate that the cost of living for a household ranges from 20 to 31 million tomans. Behrouz Farahani commented on the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare's defense of the apprenticeship plan, stating that "it seems that employers are increasingly seeking to impose such legalized forced labor." He viewed Soulat Mortazavi's recent remarks as "the representative of the government and effectively all employers" aimed at "reducing labor costs" to increase capitalist profits, stating that "the perpetual demands of capitalists have once again been supported by the capitalist government of the Islamic Republic." This labor activist emphasized that "only through organized workers' struggle can we resist such movements."