Women Workers; Conditions That Do Not Change

Since last year, there has been little change in the situation of women workers. The unemployment statistics announced last year by Alireza Mahjoub, Secretary-General of the House of Workers in Iran, indicated that unemployment among women workers has doubled and this remains unchanged. Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Labor in Hassan Rouhani's government, claims that of the 700,000 jobs created, 'a large portion' has been allocated to women, but no statistics have been provided. The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs also continues to believe that women's employment is less stable than men's. The legal status of workers and small workshops has also seen minimal change. The unemployment rate was reported at 12.4% based on last year's statistics, with economic participation among women being lower than that of men and in urban areas compared to rural areas. According to the definition of the Statistical Center of Iran, all individuals aged ten and older who worked at least one hour during the week or temporarily left work are considered employed. Thus, the situation remains as it was. Conditions, as stated by Khadijeh Moghadam, a women's issues activist residing in Germany, are moving towards a more difficult situation for women. Khadijeh Moghadam told Radio Farda: 'The situation of women workers has never been this deplorable in Iranian history. We see that there has been no improvement in the situation of women workers; their conditions are getting worse day by day. Women workers are the first group to be harmed by these regulations that the government even approved during the reform period. Most women workers in Iran are engaged in home-based jobs and work in small workshops that have no oversight, even from the Ministry of Labor.' Maryam, a female worker in Tehran, considers the problems of women workers to be fundamental and believes that women workers are not taken seriously in the labor market: 'In society, when unemployment rises, women, as heads of households or to provide for their families, are forced to work. However, they often face the attitude that instead of sitting at home, they are working and earning income, which is enough for them! Women are not considered workers in a formal sense. Therefore, in places where women are employed, there are no laws or oversight, and the situation of workers in terms of work level, social insurance, and wages remains at the same defined level.' Perhaps these factors have led to the statistic that women workers account for five percent of the total workforce in Iran. Khadijeh Moghadam disputes this statistic, saying: 'This is the official statistic, and those covered by social insurance and retirement insurance are part of this five percent. Most women workers who work in home-based jobs and small workshops have no social security and lack health insurance, retirement insurance, and unemployment insurance, and their situation worsens day by day, increasing their numbers.' Maryam, an Iranian female worker, also speaks of the discrimination against women: 'Some of the discrimination is legal discrimination; for example, even if a woman works in companies and factories where laws are in place and oversight is properly conducted, she still faces discrimination regarding insurance rights and support. The insurance premium is deducted from the worker's salary every month, whether male or female. However, the security conditions and support that social security provides differ between women and men, and women have to prove everything. After their death, no rights are given to their children. There are contradictions in the laws.' The issue of women is the exclusion of small workshops from labor law. Behrouz Karouni, a colleague at Radio Farda covering labor news, responds to the question of what discrimination Iranian women workers face: 'In my opinion, the most significant discrimination against women workers in Iran is the issue of unequal wages. Many reports from official news agencies indicate that women workers in jobs equal to male workers do not receive equal pay. I believe this puts additional pressure on them because a significant number of these women are heads of households. But the problems do not stop there. We see other issues such as being deprived of the benefits of labor law. During the presidencies of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, workshops with fewer than five or ten workers were excluded from labor law. This means they are not subject to wage increases, minimum wage, and insurance. For instance, a report from Mehr News Agency states that wages in small workshops are even below 500,000 tomans, while last year's minimum wage was 812,000 tomans. Thus, we can feel the pressure on female workers because a large portion of these workshops, such as tailoring or carpet weaving, are places where women work. Another issue is workers who work with temporary contracts. Of course, this does not only concern female workers; there are male workers as well. According to statistics, at least 93% of workers in Iran work with temporary contracts. One of the most important issues regarding employed women is the lack of insistence from working women to achieve their rights. Of course, with the issues you mentioned, it seems that female workers are also included in this matter. In addition to the fact that they do not demand higher wages, employers can pay them less because they are not protected by labor law. However, just recently, news was published stating that a significant portion of jobs created in the past year under Mr. Rouhani's government has been occupied by women. Has the employment landscape for women workers really changed so much that they are entering the labor market more, or is it because they are willing to accept lower wages that they have more opportunities to work? I believe the second point you mentioned is more acceptable. There are numerous reports in Iranian media indicating that female workers, because they are paid less, are excluded from labor law in workshops with fewer than ten workers. On the other hand, since women are willing to work for lower wages, employers prefer them. In contrast, a male worker may demand a higher salary. Of course, we should not overlook the fact that there is less enthusiasm for hiring Iranian female workers because they may be in a position of pregnancy and childbirth. It is not cost-effective for an employer to pay a female worker who wants to take maternity leave; naturally, even if their priority is to hire women, they will hire a woman who is single or whose child is grown. What is the relationship between female workers and labor organizations? Do we see extensive activity of female workers in these organizations? First of all, I should point out that there is only one official women's workers' organization, which is a branch of the House of Workers. Ms. Soheila Jaloudarzadeh also heads it. However, in independent labor organizations, we are witnessing increasing activity from women. Perhaps a few years ago, there was not as much enthusiasm. Currently, I can mention Ms. Parvin Mohammadi, who is the vice president of the Free Union of Workers of Iran, or one of the members of the Syndicate of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, who is a female driver. Recently, we also learned that one of the female activists who is a member of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Syndicate, along with several other activists, has been summoned. This indicates that the union activities of female workers are slowly and steadily making their way. After all, there are extensive problems for female workers. On the other hand, there is the issue of the families of female workers and their interference in their union activities. Their husbands or the cultural environment in which they live may not allow them to engage in these activities; after all, we see a patriarchal perspective in parts of society. Men may even prevent women from participating in demonstrations and strikes because women may be attacked, and in any case, their view considers them weak. However, I believe the situation has improved compared to previous years, and women are more active, even though we still do not have a specific independent labor organization for women.