Workers under the Islamic Republic of Iran
Forty one years ago a revolution brought down Iran’s monarchical regime. But the old regime was replaced with a dictatorship, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The new regime not only did not end the assault on trade unions and workers’ political organizations, it intensified it. It started by an assault on the factory committees and workers’ councils that had taken shape during the revolution and was then extended to all trade unions and workers’ parties. Within four years after the revolution, every single workers’ party and organization was suppressed and banned, together with other democratic organizations and all critics of the regime.
Many members of these organizations were repressed, murdered or imprisoned. At the same time, legislation on labor and social security were changed and imposed against workers’ interests. Islamic Councils of Labor were launched which defended capitalist interests and helped suppress independent workers’ organizations.
Repression of workers’ organizations has continued throughout the decades since and the conditions of workers has become worse every year. Many working-class families live under the poverty line, the wealth gap has increased as has child labor, prostitution and homelessness.
As an example, the minimum wage increase for Iranian workers for the current year was 20 percent lower than the inflation rate (which topped 41 percent.) Cost of living continues to increase and is now three or four times the wages.
Job security under attack
More than two third of Iranian workers are employed in medium or small workshops or free-trade zones and are thus not entitled to provisions of the labor code and the little benefits it offers. Those employed in large units also mostly lack an official contract; they are employed on short-term contracts (less than three months) and are liable to being fired by employers at any time. This discourages them from taking part in any protests or strikes. Based on official data, more than 90 percent of workers in Iran are unofficial and contractual and lack job security.
Ban on trade unions
The regime does all that it can to prevent formation and activity of independent trade unions. It prosecutes workers’ leaders and imprisons them. There are a small number of trade unions that have formed despite all the obstacles. Their founding leaders have been imprisoned for many years. The only organizations that have official permission are regime-linked and used as a tool of oppression. This May Day we ask you to condemn the repression of trade unions by the Iranian government, demand release of workers’ leaders and activists and pressure the Iranian government for it to respect the Iranian workers’ right to organize and cease its harassment of trade union activity in Iran.
Unemployment in Iran
Unemployment continues to be a growing problem. Official numbers don’t tell the truth. Before the Coronavirus pandemic they were at 11 percent. But experts consider the real number to be about 20 percent which means more than 7 million people. Unemployment is higher among women and youth, surpassing 30 percent. The government has failed to create jobs.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to unemployment for millions. Only about 250,000 will receive unemployment benefits and only for a brief period. These are workers with long years of experience who will now be replaced with cheaper contract workers.
Employers’ unrestricted right to fire workers
Changes in law has given the employers the unrestricted right to fire workers. The employers use the right to further exploitation, keep the wages low, prevent strikes and punish workers who protest.
Workers lacking the right to strike
Strikes are not recognized in Iran. After every strike, a number of workers who helped organize it are fired or imprisoned and sometimes tortured with blows of the lash. But the pressure of poverty and low wages means that the strikers do continue to increase.
Conditions of women
Women are in a much worse situation when it comes to the level of employment, right to chose their job and their wages. Only 18 to 20 percent of women are employed in the official sector where they suffer from gender discrimination. They can’t chose any jobs that they want, their wages (especially in the private sector) is 30 percent lower than their male counterparts. In the unofficial sector, the wage differential is up to 50 percent and even more. Many women lose their jobs immediately upon pregnancy and those with small children are seldom employed. High childcare costs and lack of childcare facilities at work or near workplaces is another obstacle.
Conditions of migrants, worse than women
There are no real numbers about legal and illegal migrants in Iran. The official numbers vary between 2 to 4 million.
Most migrant workers are from Afghanistan, Iraq or Pakistan. They are ill treated whether they have a residency permit or not. They mostly lack social insurance and labor code coverage and are employed in the unofficial and black economy, especially in the construction sector. Wages in these sectors are very low, working conditions are insecure and hard. These workers mostly live in shantytowns and rented rooms without proper facilities on the margins of the cities. Many of their children are not accepted in schools. For those born in Iran, no ID card is issued and they wont even get an identity card if they marry an Iranian. The lack of an ID card means that some are exploited by working clandestinely for half or one third of the usual wages.
Privatization has brought poverty
Privatizations have ravaged the Iranian economy for the past three decades. Most government-owned units have been sold on very low prices to the pro-government private sector or given out to governmental bodies for free or very low prices. There is not much left to privatize. This corrupt privatizations have also come with the destruction of supportive social legislation. Workers in these units now have worse conditions, lower wages and lesser job security. While workers are bared from forming unions, employers have their own unions and the support of the government, judiciary, the parliament and chiefs of security and police organizations.
Unprecedented increase in strikes and workers’ protests
افزودن دیدگاه جدید