New Law on Construction Workers' Insurance; A Labor Activist: The Situation Has Become 'Worse Than Before'

The head of the Iranian Construction Workers' Union stated that the 'new law on construction workers' insurance' has not yet impacted the 'insurance process for construction workers' and that the situation has even worsened with the issuance of new directives. Akbar Shokat, the head of the Iranian Construction Workers' Union, commented on the status of workers after the law's approval, stating: 'During this time, not only has no one been insured,' but 'the termination of insurance for construction workers continues.' He added that with the issuance of a 'new directive' from the Social Security Organization affiliated with the Ministry of Labor of the Islamic Republic, the situation for construction workers to 'be included in the insurance list' has worsened. On October 5, Ibrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic, communicated the controversial law 'amending Article 5 of the Social Insurance Law for Construction Workers,' which was approved in a public session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on September 13, 2023, to the ministries of Interior, Roads and Urban Development, Economic Affairs and Finance, and Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare for implementation. The head of the Iranian Construction Workers' Union also commented on the government-issued guidelines from the Social Security Organization regarding this law, stating that the directive specifies that construction workers must work on buildings that have a 'construction permit' or must be engaged in a field for which they have a 'skill permit'; otherwise, they 'will not be covered by social insurance.' More than a month after the law on construction workers' insurance was issued for implementation, some media and experts report that the approved and communicated text has a 'significant difference' from the 'initial draft' agreed upon by the Social Commission, the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and labor activists. Since the plan was communicated for implementation, there has been concern that it 'would not solve the problem of the shortage of social security resources' for insuring construction workers, and social security 'would continue as before,' with multiple directives 'seeking to remove construction workers from the insurance recipient list.' According to Akbar Shokat, the head of the Iranian Construction Workers' Union, even today, the job security of construction workers is 'very low,' and with this directive, they are forced to give up working in other (construction) jobs to avoid losing their insurance. Workers in various professions have repeatedly protested the poor job conditions in recent years, including low wages, lack of job security, and ambiguity in contracts and work insurance, holding protests in workplaces or in front of government institutions.