Islamic Republic Government’s
Plan for Legalization of Mandatory Work
Indicating that “at present 200
thousand unemployed workers are covered by the Unemployment Insurance Fund”, to
cover the six million unemployed as reported by Minister of Labor Ali Rabieih,
on September 1, 2014, Mehr News Agency reported of a “new method of implementation
at the Unemployment Insurance Fund.” The report indicated, “The new method seeks
to avoid paying the unemployed…..In the new method there are cases which are in
violation…… of the International Labor Organizations’ Conventions …….. One of these
cases is forcing people to accept certain jobs suggested by the Unemployment
Insurance Fund…… These actions could be portrayal of the mandatory work.”
Exporting of Work Force to
Foreign Countries, Islamic Republic’s Solution for the Unemployment Crisis
During more than a year since the
Rouhani government has been in power, on numerous occasions Minister of Labor
and other government authorities have spoken of their programs for “Job
Creation”. While on August 10, 2014, Rouhani indicated, “Unemployment
statistics in the country are shocking;” on several occasions, Minster of Labor
Ali Rabieih has emphasized, ”There are two million job opportunities in the country
that no one is willing to take them”; and on August 14, 2014, Rabieih also mentioned,
“In Yazd, people do not want to work in industrial plants.” However, during his
trip to Kazakhstan, on September 10, 2014, Ali Rabieih announced Islamic
Republic’s readiness for “expansion of cooperation in exporting
work-force…..training of house duties …… and taking care of the disabled.” On
September 10, 2014, pointing to the repeated statements of Rouhani and his
cabinet members regarding the unemployment crisis, Mehr News Agency reported,
“Still no official employment policy has been approved or implemented.” Because
of having an abundance of experience in repressing Iranian labor-union
movement, Islamic Republic is providing advice to Kazakhstan’s government for suppression
of Kazakhstan’s labor-union movement (ZHANAR), as well.
“Reform” of the Labor Law to Make Dismissal of Workers Easier
Ahmadinejad government tried to
“reform” the Labor Law in order to increase the managers’ authority and say-so.
But, because of labor’s opposition, Ahmadinejad’s anti-worker project did not
succeed. Recently, the anti-labor government of Rouhani has also started that
project. In a conversation with the Mehr News Agency, on September 6, 2014, a Board
of Directors member of the High
Center
Sources: Islamic Republic’s Labor
News Agency (ILANA) and Mehr News Agency
