Hundreds of Workers Support the 'Wage Movement' Campaign in Protest Against the Set Livelihood Basket

As workers react widely to the announcement of a figure of 23 million and 440 thousand tomans for the livelihood basket by the Supreme Labor Council, labor activists view it as an attempt to impose a minimum wage of 14 million tomans. According to the government news agency ILNA, Alireza Mirghafari, a former member of the Supreme Labor Council, has launched a protest campaign in response to the proposed figure. The text of this campaign, which has been signed by over 25,000 workers so far, states: 'Our demand is a 70% increase in wages to compensate for the wage backlog that has accumulated since 2011.' This campaign, inviting workers to the 'Wage Movement,' has warned that 'if labor representatives do not reach a fair agreement, they must leave the Supreme Labor Council meeting without signing, just like last year.' Protests have intensified while the Supreme Labor Council claims that the figure of 23 million tomans is the result of wage committee meetings, but the labor group cites its own calculations and believes the actual livelihood basket figure is at least 29 million tomans. Ali Moghadamzadeh, head of the board of the Islamic Labor Councils in South Khorasan, commented on this discrepancy, stating: 'With a livelihood basket figure of 23 million tomans, workers should be thinking about slum living. Next year will be a year of high inflation and pressure, and the government must provide a protective umbrella over workers.' He criticized alternative schemes like electronic vouchers, saying: 'Such schemes may be suitable in times of economic stability, but in the current emergency conditions, workers are struggling even to secure their basic needs.' Moghadamzadeh pointed to the serious issue of housing costs, explaining: 'At least 45% of household expenses go towards housing, but with the current housing allowance, one cannot even rent a small room. If this situation continues, workers will be forced to live on the margins and in tents.' This labor activist added: 'The prices of manufactured products in factories increase several times a year, but the worker's share of these increases is zero; a worker who is a producer cannot even afford to buy the product from their own workplace.' In contrast, some employer and government representatives have warned that significant wage increases could fuel inflation and put more pressure on production units. However, Hassan Sadeghi, deputy secretary-general of the Workers' House and head of the Union of Veteran Workers, rejected this argument, stating: 'Since the beginning of the 2010s until today, inflation has increased by about 397%, but wages have only grown by 207%. This means workers are facing a wage backlog of about 200%.' This union representative close to the government emphasized: 'When the President himself has said that one cannot live on a salary of 25 million tomans, how can some in the Supreme Labor Council be satisfied with a figure of 14 million tomans for the minimum wage?' Sadeghi added: 'The main issue is preserving workers' purchasing power, and if the real livelihood basket is not determined, discontent and social problems will undoubtedly increase.' As the time for determining the wage for the year 1404 approaches, and as the negotiations in the Supreme Labor Council become more tense, protests from labor sectors continue across various provinces. In the latest round of protests, reports indicate strikes and gatherings of workers protesting their living conditions and work conditions in several cities in Iran on Tuesday, February 30. In recent years, protests by workers, retirees, teachers, nurses, and other wage earners have been on the rise alongside worsening economic problems and increasing living costs, and the security and judicial responses of the Islamic Republic of Iran to these protests have yielded no results. More than 13,000 people have demanded a 70% wage increase for next year. A member of the Supreme Labor Council's wage committee stated: 'The livelihood basket has reached 38 million tomans.' The fate of the increase in workers' wages remains uncertain; the government is considering the 'voucher' remedy. The real value of workers' wages in Iran is only 86 dollars per month.