Strikes Continue; Contract Workers Demand Elimination of 'Contractor Mafia'

ILNA reported: These days, contract and temporary workers continue to strike, emphasizing the realization of their demands, while government officials see no way out but to threaten them. In this context, the representative of 'contract and temporary workers in the country' believes that 'the approval of the organization plan will solve many problems.' Ramin Anari, the representative of 'contract and temporary workers in the country,' stated in an interview with ILNA that if 'the plan' had been approved, 'the dissatisfaction of project workers would not have become this widespread.' An examination of the government employee organization plan shows that according to Article 6 of the plan, employees hired through contractors will completely exit the contractor status and will sign contracts directly with the organization or institution and its support department. This plan was supposed to be reviewed in 1400 (2021), but due to delays, it has not yet reached a conclusion. Shortly after, Vali Esmaeili, the head of the Social Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, announced efforts to gather 50 signatures to expedite the approval of this plan in Parliament. Soon after this effort, Ardeshir Motahari, a member of the Social Commission, told ISNA that since reviewing the budget is more important, the examination of the government employee organization plan will be postponed to next year, i.e., 1401 (2022). But why has this plan, according to contract workers, gotten stuck in the maze of Baharestan? Investigations show that with the approval of this plan, all individuals subject to Article 29 of the Sixth Development Plan and all agencies under this plan will be included. Accordingly, in addition to government institutions, many other entities considered 'quasi-governmental' and organizations like IRIB, which are somewhat under the Supreme Leader's authority, will fall under the scope of this article. Therefore, given the large number of contracting companies that, according to some labor activists, form a 'contractor mafia,' ambiguities have arisen regarding the outcome of this plan. 'Rents' in Iran's contracting network have been so high that in Shahrivar 1401 (September 2022), Zabihollah Khodayian, head of the General Inspection Organization, said: 'In identifying corruption bottlenecks, we realized that in some municipalities, projects were awarded to companies without a tender, using rent.' Although some ministries and companies, including Oil and Power, oppose this plan on the grounds of increasing government costs, Abbas Goudarzi, a member of Parliament, has a different opinion and believes that the contracting system has led to abuse and the creation of rents for certain individuals and companies. While many believe that labor issues are fundamental and structural, minimal plans like this one, which individuals like Anari, who carries the title of representative of 'contract and temporary workers in the country,' consider a way to 'solve problems,' remain lost in the corridors of Parliament, prompting workers to engage in widespread strikes. Anari also expressed concern about the imminent dismissal of 4,000 workers in a South Pars oil project. Roozbeh Bovaleri: Protesting workers are arrested by institutions under Ali Khamenei's supervision. Alireza Navaei: Employer profiteering and the indifference of the Ministry of Labor are the reasons for the high mortality rate among workers. Fereydoun Nikofard, a retiree from Haft Tappeh: Officials should quickly return dismissed workers and activists to their jobs. Roozbeh Bovaleri: The minimum wage for workers is less than half the poverty line. Retirees demanded the resignation of the Minister of Labor on International Workers' Day; the cost of living basket reached 21 million tomans. The poverty line has reached 21 million tomans, while Parliament members have increased their own salaries.