The head of the Retirees Association of Tehran Province, referring to the livelihood problems faced by millions of retirees in Iran, said that their salaries do not match “high inflation and recent price increases.” For non-Iranian readers: this association represents retirees covered by Iran’s Social Security Organization, the country’s largest pension fund.
Ali Dehghan-Kia, speaking with the state-run radio on Tuesday, November 18, emphasized that retirees face “serious livelihood problems” and added: “The mismatch between the salaries received and the cost of living has caused many of them to be unable to meet their basic needs.”
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He noted that the current salary of minimum-wage retirees is between 100 million and 110 million rials (approximately $ 97). He added: “Even when including a dependent spouse or children, this amount reaches 140 million to 145 million rials (approximately $ 123 to 130), which is not sufficient for living in the current conditions.”
Dehghan-Kia stressed that “with inflation above one-hundred percent in food items, household living costs have come under severe pressure,” and added: “Any increase in our salaries depends on the decision of the Supreme Labor Council. We have repeatedly asked the government to hold a session to raise wages for the second half of the year, but no action has been taken yet.”
For non-Iranian readers: the Supreme Labor Council is the main state-controlled body that sets annual wages in Iran.
He emphasized the need for proper implementation of laws concerning retirees and added that if the law had been respected over the past forty years, the minimum retirement salary should not have been less than 320 million to 350 million rials.
Dehghan-Kia also referred to healthcare difficulties faced by retirees, saying: “With aging, the need for medical care increases, but healthcare costs are unaffordable for many of them.”
According to the latest data from spring 2024, more than eight-and-a-half million primary and dependent retirees receive pensions from the Social Security Organization.
Dependent pensioners are individuals supported by a primary pension recipient.
The Supreme Labor Council meeting was held without discussing wages
The 337th meeting of the Supreme Labor Council was held on Monday, November 17, but according to media reports, the agenda did not include worker wages.
In contrast, according to the state-run Tasnim News Agency, the main focus of the meeting was “amending the regulations for selecting members of labor dispute resolution bodies.” The session also approved a resolution allowing the Islamic Labor Councils—state-controlled worker representation bodies—to continue nominating retired members to sit on dispute resolution committees.
Tasnim commented on the resolution, stating: “The continued presence of retirees in positions needed by young people seems strange.”
The neglect of worker wages by the Supreme Labor Council comes at a time when even pro-government labor organizations have repeatedly demanded wage adjustments. These requests have been opposed by Ahmad Meydari, Iran’s regime minister of cooperatives, labor, and social welfare.
Currently, the base wage for workers covered by the Labor Law is close to 110 million rials per month. With benefits included, this amount reaches around 150 million rials (approximately $ 133). In contrast, some pro-government labor groups say that the monthly cost of living has reached 580 million rials (approximately $ 513).
According to the two clauses of Article 41 of the Labor Law, the minimum wage must be set based on the inflation rate and the cost of living for a worker’s household. However, the second clause has not been applied in the Supreme Labor Council’s wage calculations for decades.
This practice by successive governments of Iran’s regime is described by labor activists and unions as “wage suppression.”
Wage suppression by the government continues even though, according to the state-run ILNA News Agency citing official data, the cost-of-living basket for worker households has increased by “more than 60%” since the beginning of the year. In addition, some essential items needed by workers have increased by “100% or even more.”
