The Salary Cap for Heads of the Three Branches, Ministers, and Members of Parliament Set Below 10 Million Tomans

The Salary and Wage Council has approved that the 'ceiling' for salaries, benefits, and other payments to managers of government organizations and institutions under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic should not exceed 21 times the minimum salary and 'continuous' benefits determined annually by the government. The council also approved that the 'net monthly payment ceiling' for the heads of the three branches, ministers, and members of parliament must be below 10 million tomans. According to Fars News Agency, the resolution from the July 13 meeting of the Salary and Wage Council regarding the determination of salaries and benefits for executive bodies has been communicated by Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the head of the Management and Planning Organization. According to this resolution, the 'net monthly payment ceiling' for senior political officials, including the heads of the three branches, the first vice president, cabinet members, parliament representatives, and equivalent officials 'after legal deductions and taxes' must be less than 10 million tomans. The council also announced that the 'net monthly payment ceiling' for other officials, managers, and employees subject to this resolution 'after legal deductions and taxes' should not exceed three times the salary ceiling set in Article (76) of the Civil Service Management Law. According to the note of Article (76) of the Civil Service Management Law, the ceiling for fixed salaries and 'continuous allowances' should not exceed seven times the minimum fixed salary and 'continuous allowances' determined annually by the government. Thus, it is clear that according to the new resolution of the Salary and Wage Council, the 'net monthly payment ceiling' should not exceed 21 times the minimum salary and 'continuous' benefits determined annually by the government. State banks, the Central Bank, Iran Insurance, free economic and commercial zones, municipalities, and faculty members are subject to this resolution. The Salary and Wage Council has also included organizations under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, including the Foundation of the Oppressed, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the Judiciary, the Imam's Executive Headquarters, and the Relief Committee in this resolution. This resolution was passed following the controversy over the salaries of government managers, which officials of the Islamic Republic referred to as 'unconventional salaries.' After the publication of salary slips of managers from some banks and insurance companies in Iran, the government of Hassan Rouhani and the Research Center of the Parliament announced that several institutions, including banks and insurance companies, the Ministry of Oil, and the Ministry of Health had gradually been exempted from the Civil Service Management Law in previous years. Hassan Rouhani, the President, and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, have stated that these salaries were paid in the private-public sectors, known as 'private.' In Iranian media, companies referred to as 'private' are those that are not on the list of state companies but have some of their shares held by institutions under government supervision or other governmental bodies, and their managers are appointed directly or indirectly by the government, which intervenes in their management. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, had previously stated in an interview that high salaries for managers are not limited to the government and that this issue also exists in some other institutions, including the Imam's Executive Headquarters, an economic and financial institution under the supervision of Ayatollah Khamenei. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in response to a letter from Eshaq Jahangiri, called for the 'attention' of his office and its subsidiaries to the 'approved government regulations' regarding managers' salaries. In this context, the Court of Audit: only eight managers have salaries above 40 million tomans. Nobakht: most unconventional salaries are related to the private sector. Ejei: four people arrested in the case of the former CEO of Bank Mellat. The Tehran prosecutor: the subject of the Bank Mellat case involves the transfer of 800 billion tomans. 4 billion tomans of unconventional salaries have been 'returned' to the government.