Protests Likely to Intensify as Inflation Control Promises Fail; Workers Seek Wage Increases

A member of the "Supreme Labor Council" believes that the government's promise of "controlling inflation" has led nowhere, and the only solution is to increase wages logically based on the inflation rate after years. Ali Khodaei emphasized in an interview with the "ILNA" news agency that due to the current inflation, "the effect of the wage increase in the first month has been nullified." Khodaei implicitly criticized the government's "statistical manipulation" and considered the "realities at the grassroots level" as a significant issue for the people, sarcastically stating, "Changing numbers will not add bread to people's tables." This member of the Supreme Labor Council explained the prevailing conditions affecting the livelihoods of working-class families, stating that the reality is a "severe reduction in workers' purchasing power," such that the monthly wage of workers covers a typical life for a maximum of ten days. The conditions prevailing in this segment of society have led to the emergence of strikes known as the "Campaign 1402," with a series of widespread strikes by workers in various sectors protesting against the lack of wage increases and the governance of the Islamic Republic, ongoing since the beginning of Ordibehesht (April 20). Determining the minimum wage in Iran was one of the challenges between workers and the government at the end of last year, where ultimately, on the last day of the year, the Supreme Labor Council increased workers' wages by 27%, raising the minimum wage from 4,127,000 tomans to 5,307,330 tomans. At that time, Ali Khodaei, the "representative of the country's workers" in the Supreme Labor Council, stated: "We are not truly satisfied, but we approve the resolution." The Free Union of Iranian Workers also reacted to this resolution, emphasizing that "the government has drawn its sword" and "imposed extreme poverty and misery on society," stating in a statement: "Any demand for improvement has reached a deadlock by the government, and the path is the same as that which began in Shahrivar (September) 1401, which must be continued." This union also stressed that "to succeed, all sectors must continuously and unitedly advance their strikes." This point became evident among the working community from the early days of Farvardin (March), leading to a series of labor and professional protests since the beginning of the year. Reports from Iran indicate that in the past two months, gatherings and strikes by workers in various cities, especially in protest against poor living conditions and the wage gap with the poverty line, have increased. Following the rise in protests and strikes, a wave of summons and arrests of workers and labor activists has intensified, even leading to the dismissal of workers. In one instance, Sakhavat Asadi, the CEO of the Pars Special Economic Zone, announced that "about a thousand workers have been replaced with new individuals, and on Saturday, Ordibehesht 9, three thousand new forces will replace workers who left their jobs and did not return within the specified time."