On May 23, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported an over-70 percent increase in the prices of six foodstuff in Iran since the beginning of the new Persian year on March 21.
“The new Persian year began with an increase in inflation in three indicators of monthly, annual, and point-to-point,” ISNA wrote, adding, “This increase in the point-to-point inflation, which shows the increase in households’ expenditures in comparison to the similar period in the past year, reached 50 percent.”
Already, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade announced that the edible oil price has risen by 30 percent. Aside from edible oil, other items of the Iranian people’s food basket have seen major price jump.
For instance, citizens have witnessed a 78.4-percent increase in prices of the group of tea, coffee, cacao, soft drink, and juices; 75.3-percent increase in prices of the group of milk, cheese, and eggs; 73.1-percent increase in the group of fish and shellfish; 72.9-percent increase in the group of red and white meat, poultry, and their products.
Furthermore, officials have recently raised the price of the group of sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, and sweet, by 69.9 percent. They have also increased the price of furniture and home appliances by 67.7 percent.
Meanwhile, regarding the annual inflation, the group of transportation, oil and lipid, and furniture and home appliances faced the highest inflation with 65.1 percent, 61.3 percent, and 53.7 percent, respectively.
These unprecedented leaps in the inflation rate have driven the majority of society, particularly working families, to more difficulties. “More than 90 percent of workers do not have job security and live below the poverty line,” the semiofficial ILNA news agency quoted Habib Sadeghzadeh, deputy chief of the Labor Council in East Azarbaijan province, as saying on February 7.
On the other hand, the Iranian government refuses to practice the resolution 98 and 87 of the International Labor Organization. In such circumstances, workers do not have any choice except enduring backbreaking pressure.
“There is not independent, democratic, and worker-reliant union because temporary contracts and a fear about the future have silenced laborers and blocked their path for demanding,” quoted Sobh Eqtesad daily Faramarz Tofighi, the chief of wage committee of the Labor Council, as saying on May 23.
In response to people’s grievances, in an interview with the TV Channel Two on March 11, Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Abbas Ghobadi suggested people to avoid purchasing and consuming fruits due to their high prices.
Indeed, the government does not have any approach toward people’s growing demands except oppressive measures and ridiculous methods avoiding people of consumption.
“Should you be the deputy of a great ministry to provide such solution for the expensive prices of chicken, red meat, or other essential goods?” Mostaghel daily mocked Ghobadi, leaking parts of the real sentiments of society against Iran’s leaders.
