* In the current critical conditions and facing the regime’s
policies such as reform of the “Social Security Law” and the “Labor Law”, the
primary task of the labor movement is to avoid discord and division and make a conscious
move toward reinforcing the ranks of the labor movement and boosting of the
organizational level of workers’ protests.
The fight and competition over management of the “Social
Security Organization” finally resulted in the Parliament’s tense session,
reflecting intensification of confrontation among factions of the reactionary
rulers, and impeachment of the Minister of Labor, Social Welfare and Assistance
with the majority vote and his dismissal. The management of the “Social
Security Organization”, for various reasons and for sometime had turned into an
issue of clash between ruling factions. Ahmadinejad’s exposing of Larijani
brothers and the reciprocal response of Ali Larijani, Speaker of the
Parliament, is a reflection of the depth of conflict and is a clear indication
of government’s instability in the current time and is a reflection of a new
period of tolerating within the governing body. Following these confrontations,
on Monday, February 5, 2013, Tehran ’s
Islamic Revolutionary Prosecuting Office detained Saeid Mortazavy and sent him
to the Evin Prison.
* What is the Fight Over?
The Saeid Mortazavy difficulty is in fact the battle of the reactionary
ruling factions in controlling the “Social Security Organization.” Up to now none
of these factions has opposed or has been critical of the agenda and policies
implemented in the Organization, policies which have lead to the weakening and wiping
up of the workers’ benefits. Particularly, none of the factions and individuals
opposing and critical of Saeid
Motazavy’s presence at the “Social
Security Organization” or reform of the “Social Security Law”, a bill which is
a creation of Mortazavy and his associates, have not opposed it or rejected the
bill. Deceitful maneuvers of some yellow and reactionary, so called “workers’”
organizations in preparing petitions in
support of Mortazavy’s directorship at
the “Social Security Organization” is also a move in support of certain
factions prior to the presidential elections, and is void of any trade-syndicate
motives. It was for that reason that ILANA on January 22 wrote, ”Supporting
Martazavy’s staying on the job is political. It seems politicians are trying to
amass some labor activists in supporting them……. It seems some politicians are
behind this move and have pushed the workers’ organizations [“Grand Center
for Islamic Labor Councils” and “Grand
Center Iran ’s
largest investment company – Shasta – which belongs to the Social Security
Organization contains 250 large and small companies; it has around 3 billion
dollars of assets and distributes more than one billion dollars of profit.”
Therefore, one can understand the nature and content of the uproar among ruling
reactionary circles over the selection of the director of the “Social Security
Organization” and the fight over Mortazavy’s directorship! While the rights and
interests of the workers, the real owners of the “Social Security
Organization”, are being ignored and trampled on.
* Theme and content of the reform of the “Social Security
Law”
As it was mentioned, the different factions within the
government had no difficulties, and still have no difficulties with the agenda
and policies implemented in the “Social Security Organization”, particularly
with the anti-worker bill for reform of the “Social Security Law”. Regarding
this bill, early in November 2012 ILANA News Agency reported, “The reform includes
some changes concerning the age and retirement background in normal, difficult,
and harmful jobs; increase of the workers’ co-pay for the insurance coverage;
reduction in the insurance coverage and free health coverage of the Social
Security Organization; sale of the health services to the insured;
privatization at the Social Security Organization’s health centers through
transfer of the management of the centers; transfer of the government’s public
health related obligations to the Social Security Organization; allowing the
government to have a choice in payment
or refusal to pay the 3 percent government’s share of the insurance coverage; and
other cases.”
Considering these cases, we must clearly say that, the
system of “Social Security”, and the nature and goals of the “Social Security
Organization” have changes; and this reflects reactionaries’ raid on one of the
historic achievements of the Iranian working class’ struggles. These actions
are in fact part of the social-economic strategy of the theocratic regime,
aimed at elimination of the system of “Social Security”, which its foundation
is built on the resources and earnings of the workers of our country. We also must
add this point: reform of the “Social Security Law” alongside the reform of the
“Labor Law”, privatization of the insurance companies and banks, hand-over of
the “country’s customs terminals” to the private sector, and also the plan for
privatization of the “Iranian National Oil Industry” are the main components of
liberalization of the economy and in fact are the social-economic strategy of
the theocratic regime.
To clear the way for his future activities, where the most
important one of them is the reform of the “Social Security Law”, Saeid
Mortazavy, the ill-famed agent of the Kahrizak atrocities, also famous as the
media assassin during the reform period, initially changed the constitution of
the “Social Security”. Considering the regime’s strategy in the economic field,
which consists of: implementation of the plans dictated by the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank, it was expected that his assignment would
bring very harmful changes to the role, place and extent of influence of the “Social
Security Organization”. One of the main goals in reform of the “Social Security
Law”, that the reactionaries are after, is weakening of the “Social Security
Organization” in favor of the domestic and foreign insurance companies’
activities. The “Social Security Organization” is considered as a strong rival
for these companies and it must be “legally” cleared out of the way, so that
the private (domestic and foreign) insurance companies can take control of this
high-profit market. We have not forgotten that in unison with the Supreme
Leader’s slogans concerning the so called “the year of national production”,
while speaking to the managers of insurance industry and a group of charity
foundations, clearly indicated his wishes for competition, meaning privatizing
the insurance industry and a more serious presence of domestic and foreign
private sector in this field. Securing and guaranteeing “a more serious
presence of private sector” can only, and only, become possible with weakening
of the “Social Security Organization”; an objective that the present draft of
the reform bill is seeking. In any case, in its nature, the “Social Security
Law” reform bill is extremely anti-worker, and the point we must stress on is
that some reform items, including the one concerning the retirement age and the
workers’ co-pay, is a duplicate of the “European Union” governments’ austerity
programs that the “International Monetary Fund” and the “World Bank” are imposing
on the toilers of this continent. Regarding this issue, on November 12, 2012,
ILANA reported: “Increasing the retirement age by referring to the social
security law in the European countries [lets say anti-people economic austerity
programs] is trying to increase the retirement age in the country without
comparing the Iranian workers’ welfare and income level with those in
Europe…….. The relevant question is: Since by referring to the European laws
the Social Security Organization is trying to increase the retirement age in Iran , are the
pensioners’ services being provided according to the European standards as
well?
The bill for reform of the “Social Security Law” has
received serious opposition from the working people. This bill has such an
anti-worker content, that if approved and implemented, the lives of workers and
their families will very adversely be affected, and it will have tragic
consequences.
All reform items have extremely anti-worker nature. Because
of that, in a report quoting labor activists ILANA wrote: “We workers do not
accept the changes in the Social Security Law in its present form. For example,
increase in workers’ retirement age is added extortion of our rights…… The
Social Security Organization has owner, and its owner are the workers that
every month save some of their income in this fund.”
*Worker syndicates’ task in confronting the reactionaries’
assault
The bill for reform
of the “Social Security Law” is an inseparable component of the social-economical
strategy of the theocratic regime; which at the present time the anti-national
government of Ahmadinejad, representing the ruling reactionaries and in the
interest of the big corporations, and harmful to the workers and toilers, is
being carried out. Undoubtedly, in a short time we must witness the reform of
the “Labor Law” as well.
Duty of the conscious and progressive workers and
independent syndicates is to organize an interconnected and united battle front
against the implementation of these so called “reforms”. Dismissal of the
Minister of Labor, detention of Mortazavy, and the ruling reactionaries’
exposing of each other, shows the unprecedented exacerbation of the tensions
and the consequent regime’s political instability. With care and attention, the
labor movement can, and must use these cracks in the interest of restoring and
organizing the syndicate movement and reviving the syndicate rights, and also
strengthen its relations and links with the national anti-autocratic movement. At
this critical moment, priority of the country’s labor and syndicate movement is
to strengthen the movement’s ranks and avoid division and drowning in divisive and
subjective arguments. Therefore, certain processes counter to benefits and interests
of the syndicate movement, in the recent weeks – particularly in the independent
syndicates – and attempts to disrupt syndicate activities as a result of rightist
or leftist positions, have been worrisome. The labor activists, considering the
present political realities, must struggle in organizing an independent,
militant, and all-inclusive and expansive syndicate movement, a movement which
its doors are open to all workers and toilers. With vigilance and maintaining
class conscious, and avoiding all divisive activities, and on proper class
foundation, we must struggle to revive and uphold the independent syndicates.
We must not allow the reactionary rulers to crush the Iranian working class’
rights, benefits, and achievements with ease and without an organized
opposition. With struggle we can, and we must defend these interests and
achievements!
