Four labor organizations in Iran wrote in a joint statement, referring to rising inflation and the harsh living conditions of wage earners, that in order to cover living expenses at the average level of society next year, they need at least 600 million rials (about $480) per month.
The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate, the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Labor Organizations, Retired Workers of Khuzestan, and the Union of Retirees Group wrote in a joint statement published on Saturday, November 29, that the nominal increase in the salaries of government employees and retirees for 2026 has been projected at 20%, and should therefore be calculated in the next year’s budget.
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They noted that the rial value of a 20% increase applied to the 2025 minimum wage, including all job benefits, would amount to about 187.2 million rials (around $141).
At present, the base wage of workers covered by the labor law is close to 110 million rials (around $88) per month. This amount rises to about 150 million rials (around $120) per month when benefits are included. By contrast, some labor organizations close to the regime have said that the monthly living basket has reached 580 million rials (around $464).
Independent organizations of workers and retirees had last year called for setting wages at 400 to 450 million rials (around $320 to $360) for 2025.
According to the two clauses of Article 41 of the labor law, the minimum wage for workers must be determined based on the inflation rate and the cost of living of a working-class household. However, the second clause has not been taken into account in the wage calculations of the Supreme Labor Council over recent decades.
The signatories of the statement, referring to the rising cost of living and the decline in people’s purchasing power, added that inflation next year will most likely exceed 65%, and thus the minimum wage, even with a 20% increase for 2026, will amount to about one-third of the poverty line.
Criticizing what they called this “anti-worker decision by the government” of Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran’s regime, they added: “The struggle to raise wages and reduce economic pressures and inflation is a necessary and vital matter that draws the majority of society to protest the existing situation.”
The statement says: “The more solidarity grows among different classes and social groups, and the more the struggle benefits from its own specific organization, the greater the possibility of realizing demands and social changes.”
Meanwhile, the state-run ILNA news agency wrote regarding debates over a 20% increase in employees’ salaries next year: “The inflation imposed on people’s livelihoods over the first eight months of this year is about three times the proposed salary increase for employees (for next year).”
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ILNA noted that government employees have strongly criticized the proposed 20% salary increase in online and public spaces.
In this regard, tens of thousands of government employees, in a letter, called on Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran’s regime, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the regime’s parliament, and members of parliament to calculate salary increases for government employees not based on the proposed 20%, but according to the inflation rate.
The letter, published on the Karzar website and signed by more than 48,000 people as of Saturday, November 29, states: “The proposed 2026 budget considers only a 20% increase in government employees’ salaries, while the real inflation rate is consistently reported at over 50%.”
In this connection, Yahya Azizi, secretary of the Employees’ Demands Working Group at the regime’s Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, told ILNA: “Article 125 of the Civil Service Management Law provides for an increase in the rial coefficient in proportion to the inflation rate, but this requirement has not been observed over the past five years.”
In recent months, protests by workers and other wage earners in various parts of Iran have expanded in parallel with the deterioration of their living conditions. In response, Iran’s regime has attempted to block these protests through administrative, security, and judicial measures, but reports from independent labor and professional organizations indicate the failure of this policy.
