Opposition to 'Regional Wage' Leaves First Meeting of 'Wage Committee' Fruitless

The first meeting of the Wage Determination Committee of the Supreme Labor Council ended without results due to the insistence of the Ministry of Economy and other government representatives on 'regional wages' and the opposition of workers' representatives to this issue. The workers' representative in the Supreme Labor Council explained to ISNA news agency that, apart from the workers' opposition, the Social Security Organization also raised objections to this plan. Alireza Mirghafari believes that for 'regional wages,' the livelihood basket should be the criterion, and the minimum wage should be equal to the livelihood basket, which is determined nationally. Fathollah Bayat, head of the Union of Contract and Temporary Workers, stated that if we enter this discussion, various industries may also come into play, and employers and the government will face the challenge of how to differentiate wages among industries. Bayat also announced that the cost of the livelihood basket in metropolitan areas is between 20 to 25 million tomans and in less affluent areas and small cities is 15 to 20 million tomans, stating that this difference relates to certain 'items' such as housing, as housing and rent costs are higher in metropolitan areas. The range of 15 to 25 million tomans for the minimum livelihood cost comes at a time when a married worker with children, in the best-case scenario, receives slightly more than 9 million tomans per month in wages, including all rights and benefits. Consequently, many problems have arisen, including the removal of many essential goods and services such as healthcare and education among these groups. Meanwhile, inflation remains above 40 percent, and experts predict that inflation will also increase next year; a trend that analysts believe necessitates a 40 percent increase in wages to maintain the current conditions. However, media circles indicate that the Wage Committee intends to agree on a wage increase within the range of 20 percent. The head of the Planning and Budget Organization stated that there is no capacity to pay a 30 percent wage increase to employees and claimed that if this is done, inflation will intensify. The hidden consequences of inflation; the real wages of workers have been 'halved.' The share of food items in the cost basket is 65 percent of workers' wages. Continued opposition to the government's efforts to change the wage determination formula; a labor official stated that the conditions for implementing 'regional wages' are not in place. A labor activist stated that regional wages can only be implemented with the participation of 'real representatives' of workers. Intensified opposition to efforts to change the wage determination formula; a labor activist stated that 'regional wages' will not benefit workers. Another labor activist warned that if the government behaves like last year, workers' representatives will not participate in the 'wage determination' meeting.