As long as the economy does not deviate from its record and negative economic growth does not exceed five percent, jobs will not be created. These are the words of Gholamreza Marhaba, the spokesperson for the Economic Commission and representative of Astara in Gilan province in the eleventh session of the Islamic Council. The parliamentary representative who was approached by the monthly magazine Khat-e-Solh to inquire about the issue of false employment and widespread garbage disposal. Mr. Marhaba told Khat-e-Solh that in Iran, “some officials sometimes do things and say things that are not desirable; worse than saying that a million tomans can create a job, is that they declare a lower poverty line.” He had previously said that the four million tomans poverty line does not match reality and not only experts, but also an ordinary citizen does not accept these new definitions of the poverty line.

The spokesperson of the 11th Parliament’s Economic Commission also stated in a conversation with the Peace Line that labeling waste collection as a job is a social anomaly and support institutions should fulfill their duties in this regard. He continued by saying that in Iran today, “the problem of employment will not be solved by passing laws, regulations, or directives” and “the overall economy must be put into motion.” In response to the Minister of Labor’s recent statement about the possibility of creating jobs with “one million tomans,” this member of Parliament also said that “it is not possible at all to create jobs with amounts like one million tomans.”

You can read the explanation of the interview with Gholamreza Morhaba in the following of the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh”.

What is the definition of the parliament and legislator in the Islamic Republic of Iran from a false profession?

From the perspective of lawmakers, we do not have a definition for fake and non-fake jobs that we can refer to. This means that we do not have a single article, bill, or plan that defines the job and specifies which jobs are considered fake and which are considered legitimate. These definitions are held by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and those who work in this field and use them.

According to what you said, what differences are made in our laws between official jobs and fake jobs like garbage collecting? Is there any difference?

Official jobs are registered and licensed in places like an office, a government organization, or a private company. They can also be a trade unit with a business license, where employees pay taxes and have insurance. However, jobs like garbage collection are more of a social abnormality than a legitimate job. Fake jobs, such as old coupon sales or street vendors, are not registered or recognized by any authority, whether government or private, and do not have insurance or other benefits. These types of jobs are fake; they are not registered anywhere and cannot provide services as a legitimate job. Someone who has a legitimate job and has worked somewhere can go to the labor office and say that they were fired by their employer. This person can receive unemployment benefits or file a complaint and receive their rights. But for a coupon seller whose job is not registered or recorded anywhere, who does not pay taxes or have insurance and support, there is nothing. They simply go and buy and sell. These are jobs that can be

One of the fake jobs that has become increasingly common recently is garbage collecting. It seems that garbage collecting and waste collection, which used to be a source of income for a specific and small population (perhaps limited to the homeless or some marginalized groups), has now become a more widespread phenomenon. What is your opinion on this? What measures has the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) considered in this regard? Has this issue been raised in parliament?

Good. In this way, the parliament has not addressed this issue. When waste collection is mentioned, we must consider that some innocent people are relying on this as their only source of income and have no other way to provide for their families; they are forced to do this work. I do not support this issue and its necessity. Some of them may not even have good physical health. But this act is a social abnormality that has roots in our society. One of these roots is that we have not been able to provide honorable jobs for those seeking them, so that everyone can find a job according to their abilities and expertise and make it their profession.

As I mentioned, this is a social abnormality. The question is, why does our welfare and social security system abandon these vulnerable individuals in society to scavenge for a living? Now, dealing with the fact that we don’t know where these scavengers go or what organizations purchase their goods, and the possibility that these plastic waste items may end up in our homes as hygiene products, we also have child labor and begging. These children are innocent and victims. However, there are people who employ some of these children and take all of their income; perhaps they only provide them with shelter and a minimum of that income. We must consider all of these not just as a job issue, but as social abnormalities caused by the inability of support institutions to provide the necessary support for these individuals.

The issue of social abnormality is real. However, this phenomenon is intertwined with economic factors. Do you think this problem is only specific to our major cities, or have our smaller cities also been affected by it?

In big cities, it is more common. However, in small and tourist cities, where some people feel they can have incomes, it also exists. Sometimes it is also done by people who migrate to these cities. In small cities where people know each other, shame and modesty and people’s relationships with each other make us less likely to see this phenomenon in these cities in general.

In the current situation, how can the issue of employment and unemployment in our country be solved?

This is not an issue that can be solved by a single institution or ministry. I am a representative of a county. Many people come to us, our office and colleagues. Most of these people are looking for jobs. They think that a representative can introduce them to any department they want to work in. But the reality is not like that and such a possibility does not exist. There is no capacity for employment in the government agencies. Government employment has been limited by the sixth five-year plan. In recent years, there have been rarely any employment exams for government agencies. On the other hand, employment in government agencies does not solve the problem. We need a productive economy. However, in an economy that has been facing recession for years, has heavy inflation, and has low foreign investment, how can we create jobs? It is not my job as a representative to create enough jobs, for example, in Astara, where I am a representative. At least five thousand jobs need to be created

During the second government of Khordad, I was a student in my bachelor’s degree program. At that time, a plan was introduced that stated that loans of two to three million tomans would be given to individuals to create jobs for themselves. Whoever received this loan would be removed from the pool of job seekers. This method was very wrong. With two to three million tomans, it is not possible to create a job. As a result, some people became indebted. Sometimes they would come and, for example, arrange some chairs in a store, and an inspector would come and look. They would say, for example, that we want to start a real estate business. Then they would take the three million tomans and leave with the chairs. These are false methods for creating employment and none of them are productive. Then the discussion of quick-return businesses came up. In my opinion, that was not a successful plan either. Again, some people received loans, but the quick-return

Searching for the culprit is not the solution, but the Minister of Labor of the thirteenth government talks about the possibility of creating jobs with one million tomans.

This statement is not at all logical or believable.

Let’s also consider that the parliament is the overseer and has a supervisory duty…

“We are speaking our minds. This statement by the Minister of Labor is by no means achievable. Even in Islamshahr, you cannot rent a house for less than four million tomans. However, some officials sometimes do things and say things that are not desirable; worse than saying that a job can be created with one million tomans, is when they announce a lower poverty line. Bring someone who has expertise and education. I will give him five million tomans from my own pocket to create a job for himself! It is not possible at all to create a job with amounts like one million tomans or even five times that – five million tomans. We have spoken, we are speaking, and we will continue to speak. We will speak freely as well. We are with the government and we want to help each other and have understanding, but at the same time we will maintain our freedom and speak our minds. This is a duty that the constitution has entrusted to us and we will

In addition to speaking freely, the parliament is also a legislative and supervisory body. Its duty is to monitor the government’s performance. In the discussion of fake jobs, what has the parliament done or can do? You have mentioned some necessary things in your words. But what role has your parliament and commission played and can play?

Direct employment is not within the specialized scope of the Economic Commission of the Parliament.

But it is economic policy.

Yes. But in the field of work and social affairs, other friends work. Of course, it doesn’t make a difference and all representatives have the same responsibility. Imagine, for example, I write a plan tomorrow and say that these are fake and false jobs and we should deal with fake jobs. From tomorrow, we should also put the police force to deal with anyone who litters. Because this is a fake job and it also ruins the city’s image. This won’t solve any problems. What we are doing and the effort that the government is also doing is to get the economy out of the record. When the economy is out of the record, employment will also be out of the record. It is possible to employ two or three people in a small city, for example, in a service company. But on the other hand, there are five thousand people waiting in line. How should we solve the problem of employment for these people? It’s not a problem that can be solved

The overall system and everyone in every field is striving to improve the economy and livelihood of the people and remove them from this situation. To exit this current situation, inflation must be controlled and we must also break the record. Exiting the recession will solve a significant percentage of the problem.

In addition to garbage collection, there are emerging jobs resulting from poverty such as selling hair, which have recently received attention and criticism in the media and social networks.

Yes, but keep in mind that these activities should not be considered as a job. Making money from anything does not make it a job. There are people who even sell parts of their body. These things can happen in any society. However, in some cases, these activities are intensified due to economic conditions. In all countries of the world, various types of such abnormalities can be seen with varying degrees of severity and weakness. In our country, due to the living conditions, the intensity of some of these activities has increased and is evident. I have also heard from you about some of them, such as selling hair, and I did not have any information about it. But as I mentioned, this is mainly the responsibility of support institutions such as welfare, relief committees, and social security organization. These institutions have a duty to support vulnerable groups in the country who have physical, mental, or other problems and cannot manage their own lives. If these problems are not controlled, these groups will become marginalized

It has been reported that Amir al-Mu’minin saw an old man begging. They followed him and found out that this old man used to work before. They said that at the time when this servant of God was capable, you made him work, but now that he has fallen out of work, you have abandoned him. Then they ordered to allocate some funds from the treasury to help him. I gave this example to say that we have role models. We also have laws. Perhaps due to budget constraints, support agencies may not have the ability and resources to control all the abnormalities, and some may fall outside this support circle. This is understandable, but unfortunately, the observations are more than these words. This issue is very upsetting. Hopefully, with the improvement of economic conditions, these issues will also decrease.

When is this improvement in the economic situation that you mentioned supposed to happen? Is it possible that it will happen in the next five-year plan?

Insha’Allah, the next five years will be better. The signs of a true morning show that our economy is improving and decisions will be more logical and rational. As long as things are done correctly and their effects are left behind. Of course, it takes time, but I hope to see an improvement in the next five years.

I expressed my opinion based on the country’s future development plan.

The development of the next five-year plan has not yet begun. It is in the preliminary stages. Committees are also in the process of formation. Some technical and economic improvements are being seen. However, its social effects are not yet visible. But from a technical standpoint, positive changes and developments are taking place, which we hope will lead to an improvement in the situation.

Thank you for the time you have given to the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh”.