Let me start my speech with two questions: How did the year 1402 pass for all members of society, including women, teachers, workers in various sectors (services, production, industry, mines, and agriculture), nurses, retired military personnel, steelworkers, social security recipients, and all wage and salary earners? In other words, how did the dual cycle of governance – attention to law and responsibility towards the citizenship rights of all wage and salary earners in the country – take charge of finding a solution on the path to improving the lives of a vast workforce who have strived for a decent life and fair wages in all fields, away from the cycle of capital and towards independence of opinion and decision-making, to live on their own terms?

The year was named “Inflation Control and Production Growth”. Throughout the year, not only did the middlemen and importers of various goods become richer, but there was also no increase in production, and inflation was not controlled. The only force that suffered under this inflation control was the working class, who were the backbone of society. They started a difficult year and, in order to survive, had to pay heavy expenses until the end of the year.

With the announcement of a 27% increase in salaries at the beginning of the year 1402, the first blow was dealt to the lifeless bodies of all employed wage earners. The history of what happened in closed-door discussions between government representatives, employers, and representatives of the Supreme Council of Labor – away from the eyes of elected worker representatives – is not hidden from anyone. The salary for the year 1402 was approved in a repetitive show, without considering the inflation rate and cost of living. Determining this minimum wage is essentially renting labor, which every worker produces. If that production value is not there, no wealth is created and the hands of no government or employer will return to looting and embezzlement. So if there is no worker, there is no production. The accumulation of wealth and profit will also not be possible.

It must be said that what has been seen as the characteristic of naming the year and what is prevalent in the public scene of society, shows the duality of existence in society between the entity of our class and the ruling capitalism, namely the “sharp contradiction of labor and capital”. In this increase in inflation and the uncontrollable suppression of it, the people have no role and do not have any. In this country, when the foundation of the economy is not stable for the people and wherever the government falls short, it adds 50% to the taxes, the consequences of hurting the people are evident in every embezzlement and clash – such as billions of dollars poured into the “tea pot”. Basically, have the people had a role in creating inflation and brought it into existence in order to try to end and suppress it?

All the governments of the Islamic Republic, one after the other, alongside many others including the aristocrats, rent-seekers, sanctioned merchants, and mafia organizations, all have their share through contracts with laborers at the lowest wages, alongside monopolies and price control of goods, and the cheap or sometimes free use of government services such as gas, electricity, telephone, and fuel, which greatly increases inflation. When both the government and private sector handle all affairs, how can we expect them to control inflation and make the slogan of the year a reality? Nevertheless, the 13th government’s leader in a showy tweet calls his government’s red line the fight against rent, mafia, and special privileges; ask him: what has four decades of claiming to fight against rent, mafia, and special privileges achieved, other than making it “institutionalized” and corruption “structural” in the system, which has only now been labeled as the red line of the 13th government?

Today, we are facing the highest inflation in the country’s history over the past four decades. Official government statistics show a record inflation rate of 68.7% year-on-year and a step closer to 70% in the past four decades, which has never been seen before. It must be announced with honesty that what has been taken from the pockets of these people due to inflation must necessarily be returned to them.

During the year 1402, attacks on the position of women in various fields and the suppression of social activists continued with even greater intensity. During the past year, we witnessed the most widespread problems and social harms, such as issues like “divorce among workers”, “addiction among workers”, “violence among workers”, and “suicide among workers”, as an independent issue related to the working class in Iran, especially among its young members, which no statistical sources are available for. Based on the assessment of Farshad Momeni, an economist, “today, 30% of the country’s population is below the poverty line and another 40% are on the verge of falling below the poverty line… Today, due to the government’s policies in the economic sector, we are facing a very dangerous and concerning tsunami of the phenomenon of poor workers in Iran’s political economy. Official reports indicate that over 60% of poor households have a working head of household. This statistic

As an example, such pressures cause the demand for Iranian nurses to increase six-fold. Mohammad Mirzabegi, the head of the National Nursing Organization, had reported daily migration of 5 to 6 nurses and monthly migration of 100 to 150 nurses to Gulf countries, including Qatar and the UAE. According to the latest announcement by Sharifi Moghadam, the director of Iran’s Nursing Home, this year, the number of nurses migrating to countries such as Germany, the United States, Australia, and Canada has reached 3,000. Sharifi Moghadam stated that “previously, 200 to 300 people annually received migration certificates from the nursing system, but now more than 1,500 people may migrate annually.” (2)

Last year, in response to protests by retirees, they imposed an increase in the retirement age on all retirees in the country. The indifferent government, by disregarding the rights of retirees, ignores their daily cries simply because they no longer play a role in the production cycle. In a situation where wages do not increase according to legal requirements, they raise taxes and impose value-added tax on workers and retirees in the country.

The amount of emergency loan for retired individuals from the Social Security Organization in 1401 was only 12 million tomans, which increased to 20 million tomans in 1402; an amount that is not even enough to buy a refrigerator. One must ask what the criteria for an essential loan are. Is it not for the retired individual to be able to meet their necessary needs and those of their children in times of necessity? Now, a retired individual who lives below the poverty line, who has no assets or savings, and has put all their years of work into the Social Security Fund, has no choice but to borrow from this fund. But the question is, shouldn’t this loan be enough for the retired individual to be able to buy two household items for themselves, their children, and grandchildren?

In the final days of Esfand (the last month of the Iranian calendar), for the upcoming year, they also determined the three-sided public policy for the base salary of workers for the year 1403 to be equal to 7 million and 166 thousand tomans, following the same trend as previous years. The Minister of Labor said, “The minimum wage for workers with one child has been set at 10 million and 892 thousand tomans. With this calculation, the monthly base salary has increased from 5 million and 308 thousand and 282 tomans to 7 million and 166 thousand tomans.” In response, representatives of the High Council of Labor announced that if they do not accept our proposed minimum, which is much lower than the legal minimum, we will leave the meeting. They considered the lowest proposed amount for the cost of living for a family of 3.3 people, calculated based on official statistics from the Statistical Center, to be 21 million

In the midst of such a situation, the year 1403 has also been called “the year of inflation and production leap with the participation of the people”. A fundamental question arises, which is that in the 32-month period in years that have been named after some kind of increase or production leap, what message does the 148% jump in the dollar rate, the 246% jump in the price of gold coins, and the 170% jump in rent and housing prices convey, other than the failure of economic policy makers in the face of the empty table of the people?

Determining the minimum wage that was hit at the end of the week of Esfand month in 1401 was like a missile that hit the empty tables of the Iranian people and its effects continued throughout the year 1402, causing irreparable damage to the lives, property, and livelihoods of the people and the impoverished society. Now, that same destructive missile – but even more devastating – has landed on the last day of the past year for the upcoming year, 1403. The landing of this economic missile has emptied the remaining tables and dragged people towards destitution.

How and how can these empty tables be filled? The answer to this question is not seeking refuge and getting involved with this and that authority, but rather in gathering, organizing, and mobilizing the public against the missile launchers on the empty tables. They have brought up with good thinking: “There is no savior in this matter. Neither the sky, nor Caesar, nor the preacher…” The workers, meaning the masses who have emptied their tables, must rise up for their own liberation.

This year, just like last year, inflation started from the first days of Farvardin (the first month of the Persian calendar) and the value of the national currency plummeted. At a time when empty promises, inefficiency, and broken trust have caused people to lose faith, it is only the people who can stand behind each other. People, especially the lower and middle classes and those at the bottom of society, are worried about the economic situation, but unfortunately what is seen in practice is the presentation of false and fabricated statistics by officials and the only word they give to the people is “promises of improvement”; at a time when in the first days of the year, the price of gold coins has reached 43 million tomans and the dollar has also taken a step towards 70,000 tomans, and inflation has affected all goods and services.

The relentless struggle between two social classes is ongoing; between those whose table is piled high every day and those who spend every month, week, day, hour, minute, and second of their lives looking to others for survival. This unrelenting and unequal battle, and the response to these inequalities, is nothing but an intensification of class conflict and the incitement of class warfare. The first of May, International Workers’ Day, is a manifestation of opportunities to highlight this conflict and demand a response to these injustices that have gone unanswered.

The eleventh of Ordibehesht (International Workers’ Day) and the twelfth of Ordibehesht (Teachers’ Day) come at a time when the immediate outlook suggests an increase in conflict between these two approaches within the context and framework of protest movements.

Notes:

1- Farshad Momeni: Iran’s political economy has become mafioso, Eghtesad 24, 6 Farvardin 1403.

2- The demand for Iranian nurses to migrate has increased six-fold, Hamshahri Online, 15 Shahrivar 1400.