Tehran Bus Workers' Syndicate: April Salaries Not Paid Due to Management Inefficiency and Incompetence of Tehran Municipality

The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran Bus Company announced on Saturday, April 29, that the salaries for the month of April for drivers and other workers of this company have not been paid due to what they termed 'management inefficiency and incompetence of the Tehran Municipality.' This labor organization pointed out that nearly two months have passed since the beginning of the year, and workers of the Tehran Bus Company are facing problems arising from 'runaway inflation,' adding that they are always a month behind in payments and that salaries are not received in a timely and online manner. The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran Bus Company further stated: 'Nevertheless, workers have endured these conditions, but the incompetent management and the unqualified board of directors are taking full advantage of this patience and are delaying the payment of workers' salaries even more.' According to the statement from this independent labor organization, one of the main reasons for these problems is the Tehran Municipality. The Syndicate wrote: 'Various mayors, particularly Mr. Zakhani, have had problems with increasing workers' salaries every year and always create crises at the beginning of the year, such as the failure to increase salaries or delays in salary payments for drivers and other workers of the company, revealing their true nature, which is anti-worker.' The statement emphasized, 'These city managers, contrary to the demagogic slogans they always shout from the podiums to gain social prestige and to elevate their positions in the country, are in fact agents of the ruling capitalist exploitation system.' The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran Bus Company added: 'A recent example of their rent-seeking and anti-worker policies is the payment of housing allowances to managers, while workers and drivers of the company have not used housing facilities for years and their lives are managed in a rental manner in the suburbs.' This labor organization wrote: 'The mayor, who speaks about the livelihoods of workers at ceremonies and conferences, does not pay the meager salaries of drivers and workers of the company on time,' and added: 'Is timely payment of salaries not part of guaranteeing workers' livelihoods? The municipality and the mayor have not only taken no steps to improve workers' livelihoods during this time, but they do not even pay their salaries on time.' The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran Bus Company warned that 'your demagogic slogans do not provide us workers with bread, water, and housing' regarding the protests of the workers of this company over unpaid salaries. In recent years, the failure to pay salaries on time has been one of the reasons for workers' protests in Iran, which have taken various forms such as strikes and gatherings.