With coming to power of the Hassan Rouhani government and in the framework
of the Islamic Republic’s general policies, privatization programs and cutting
of the subsidies, based on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s
prescriptions, are being implemented with haste. These programs which include
making the work-force cheaper for the native and foreign big-capitalists,
deregulation in the work-place and work-relations for rendering the Labor-Law
ineffective, cutting the subsidies in the name of the so called “Targeting of the
Subsidies”, expanding the Free and Especial Economic Regions with the intension
of enslaving the workers, raiding the national properties in the name of
privatization, expanding the private sector for the purpose of a few people
attaining huge amounts of profits, and raiding the workers’ properties and
savings in the Social Security Organization, has destroyed the workers’ lives
and their class interests.
While according to the ILANA’s (Islamic Republic’s Labor News-Agency) March
11, 2014 report, “A family’s monthly living expenses on the basis of the
poverty-line is 1800000 Tomans (one Dollar is approximately equivalent to 3000
Tomans)”; in a report from the conclusion of the meeting for determining the
wage, which decided on the 608800 Tomans being the 2014 workers’ monthly wage;
on April 12, 2014, quoting the Minster of Labor Rabieih, ILANA wrote, “With
representatives from three groups, government, ‘workers’ and management present,
‘with complete consensus’ and workers’ and managers’ ‘unanimous member and
observer votes’, the High Labor Council approved the following (wage) acts for
the coming year.” On April 12, 2014, at the first 2014 Rabieih’s summit with
the official labor organization’s representatives, all of the so called labor
representatives applauded determination of the 609000 Tomans, an amount
equivalent to one-third of the poverty-line as wage, and the Secretary General
of the Grand Trade Center of the Workers’ Associations indicated, “Wage
increase was the result of bargaining with one another of the social partners;
and we defend the result of what was achieved with the Minister of Cooperation,
Labor and Social Welfare’s insight, and the harmony which existed between the
workers’ and the management organizations.”
Three years ago, due to the elimination of the subsidies from energy, food
items, medicine,….., Islamic Republic government officials promised monthly
payment of 45000 Tomans per person, and supplying the energy needs of the
industrial production and medicine….. They called cutting of the subsidies,
“Targeting of the Subsidies”; and the 30 percent of the income from “Targeting
of the Subsidies”, which was supposed to be allocated to the industrial
production, was immediately cut; which resulted in destruction of thousands of
production plants and unemployment of millions of workers. Last year was the
time for cutting of the “Reference Currency” from medicine and essential goods;
which resulted in devastation of the medicine production and the astronomical
price hikes. Despite 20 to 24 percent increases in the price of water,
electricity,……., as part of the second phase of the “Targeting of the
Subsidies” during the recent few weeks, using various types of ploys during the
last two months, regime’s officials have decided on taking the 45000 Tomans of
monthly payment back as well. On April 15, 2014 ILANA wrote, “About 90 percent
of the workers in Hamadan
Province
During the recent few months Rouhani has changed status of considerable
sections of the southern parts of the country into Free and Especial Economic Regions.
While merchants make immense amounts of money from the import tax exemption in
the Free Economic Regions, workers employed in these regions will not be
covered by the Labor Law and the Social Security benefits; in other words,
workers will turn into slaves with no legal protections. On March 31, 2014, in
a gathering of the Free-Trade Regions’ administrators, Rouhani indicated, “In
some cases the seven Free Economic Regions can turn into model economic
development regions in the country; because, they are not suffering from the restricting
laws and regulations.” On March 5, 2014, Taiebnia, Islamic Republic’s Minister
of Economic and Financial Affairs described “only 3 percent of the
privatizations completely genuine”; regardless of that he emphasized, “We are
in the process of preparing the environment by transferring economic activities
to the private sector.”
During the recent weeks we have witnessed strong labor opposition to the
government’s aim of transferring the health-care section of the Social Security
Organization to the Ministry of Health’s “health insurance.” For instance,
quoting workers on the 9th and 12th of April, ILANA wrote:
“Transferring the health funds of the Social Security Organization into a
governmental organization means transferring billions of Tomans of workers’
funds into the government treasury”; “With this act, the free of charge
treatment of the Social Security Organization’s insured workers will be
terminated.” In the face of all such opposition, while emphasizing the Worker
House organization’s (center for the government sanctioned labor
organizations) support for the “Rouhani
government’s general policies”, according to the ILANA’s April 13, 2014 report,
during his meeting with the Deputy General Secretary of the German Social
Democratic Party (SPD), Ralf Mutzenich at the Worker House in Tehran, Ali Reza
Mahjob, General Secretary of the Worker House described differences in views
between the Worker House organizations and the Rouhani
Government to be “minimal”; and considered “the Rouhani government’s
intention….in the framework of the health insurance plan….., as a prelude for
social insurance….., and was hopeful regarding the unemployment insurance for the
unemployed in the near future.”
Since the start of its work, Rouhani administration has made wide-ranging
efforts for complete deregulation of our country’s economy. During the fourth
meeting of the Rouhani government’s high-ranking officials with the
International Monetary Fund authorities, on April 11, 2014, Director of Iran’s
Central Bank requested Christine Lagarde, Director of the International
Monetary Fund that the International Monetary Fund hold “regional training
sessions in Tehran”; Christine Lagarde agreed to his request. In other words,
Rouhani government officials intend to turn Iran into the regional center for
training in “Free-Market Economy.” The only way to protect the working class
interests, and struggle against repression and exploitation by the native and
foreign big-capitalists, is organization of the workers in independent workers’
syndicates and unified struggle of our country’s working class.
United Workers Everything
Isolated Workers Nothing
