Hadi Abavee, the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Iranian Worker Associations, announced that “the problem of the reduction in workers’ purchasing power has led to about 70 percent of them having dual jobs.”
Workers believe that with long working hours and low income, they cannot make ends meet and are forced to take on a second job after their regular working hours in a production or administrative unit to support their families.
Many reports have previously been published about the reduction in workers’ purchasing power in Iran, taking into account the inflation rate and the increased cost of living.
The semiofficial ILNA news agency reported on October 4, “The latest independent calculations show that the minimum cost of living in various provinces has reached 220 million rials (approximately $422),” adding, “Based on this calculation, a salary of 90 million rials (approximately $173) is 20 million rials (approximately $38) less than half the cost of living basket, which means that a worker earning 90 million rials, if living in the cities and not paying rent over 70 or 80 million rials (approximately $134-154) in Tehran, can cover two weeks of expenses at best. In fact, with the minimum wage in the provinces, it is not even possible to sustain oneself for two weeks.”
According to state-run Tasnim news agency, Hadi Abavee, referring to the livelihood problems of workers, said, “Our main problem is that the Ministry of Labor is not willing to hold a meeting to reexamine livelihoods. We are not seeking an increase in wages. At least let a meeting be held and listen to the problems of workers, but they still evade holding a meeting.”
In March, the Supreme Labor Council increased the minimum wage of married workers with children, who are covered by the labor law, by 27 percent. As a result, the minimum monthly wage for this group of workers reached 80 million rials (approximately $153). This action by the Supreme Labor Council, as well as the approval of the resolution by the “worker representatives” of the council, received significant criticism.
Moreover, according to the regime’s Khabar Online website, the inflation rate is “above 46 percent”, and from March until now, the inflation rate has not been lower than this figure in any month.
Activists and independent labor organizations have demanded the determination of a minimum wage of at least 150 million rials (approximately $289) for workers.
On the other hand, the regime’s President Ebrahim Raisi has not taken any action to increase workers’ wages.
Officials from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare have repeatedly opposed increasing workers’ wages. Even Sowlat Mortazavi, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, said that “the minimum wage earner can use the power of negotiation and receive a higher salary commensurate with their expertise.”
The regime has shirked its responsibility to address the demands of workers and has thrown the ball into the workers’ court. Meanwhile, following Sowlat Mortazavi’s remarks, reports were published in labor unions’ media outlets and some other news sources indicating employers’ resistance to the demand for increasing workers’ wages.
In this regard, several workers were fired by their employers, and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare showed no reaction.
At the same time, Faramarz Tofighi, a labor activist who, according to the state-run ILNA news agency, has conducted independent calculations of the cost of living for worker households, told the news agency: “In Tehran, the minimum expenses for a three or four-member household, including rent, reach 300 million rials (approximately $576).”
He added, “A working family in Tehran who is a tenant should have a salary of 300 million rials to make ends meet until the end of the month.”
According to a report by the “Didbaniran” published on September 28, “The allocation of a significant portion of household expenses to housing and food causes households to have a lower budget and income for other expenses, including education.”
According to this report, “An analysis of household expenses shows that the share of education from total household expenses has been decreasing over time.”
Meanwhile, the Administrative and Recruitment Organization has demanded that surplus funds not be allocated to executive agencies and instead be used to address the issue of salary restoration for employees.
The Administrative and Recruitment Organization and the Organization of Planning and Budget are against increasing employees’ wages.
This comes at a time when previously, Ali Babaei Karnamy, the head of the labor faction in the parliament, announced in August that the government is working on a 20 percent increase in salaries for state employees in the second half of this year.
“The government is in the process of sending a bill to implement a 20 percent increase in salaries for employees and retirees as part of equalization measures in the second half of the year,” said Babaei Karnamy.
According to the “Khabaronline”, in October of last year, the government of Ebrahim Raisi sent a bill to the parliament titled “Equalization of Salaries for Government Employees, as well as National and Military Retirees.”
According to this bill, a gradual percentage increase was considered for government employees, so that those who receive lower wages would experience a 20 percent increase, while the percentage increase would be lower for higher-wage earners.
This proposal was approved by the parliament in November 2022. However, both the Planning and Budget Organization and the Administrative and Recruitment Organization have explicitly expressed their opposition to the restoration of employees’ and retirees’ salaries.
