Work-related accidents in countries around the world, especially in countries like Iran, constantly result in the death of workers and wage earners. One of the recent incidents related to work-related accidents is the explosion at the Rajai Port in Bandar Abbas, where dozens of workers and employees were killed and an unknown number of them went missing.

According to published reports, many workers in Iran are employed unofficially and without permanent contracts. According to labor activists, 97% of workers have temporary contracts. A significant percentage of these workers also work in difficult and dangerous conditions, including in the mining and construction sectors, as was seen in the explosion at the Rajai Port in Bandar Abbas, where they work in ports.

In many cases, workers are deprived of their legal rights and benefits because they are not covered by labor laws; a subject that was mentioned by labor organizations and some media outlets in the aftermath of this explosion.

An explosion in the port of Rajaei in Bandar Abbas (the exact cause of which has not yet been announced), has been considered one of the most bitter incidents in Iran’s history. This incident resulted in the loss of lives of several workers, but some of them were not included in the official victim statistics due to lack of contracts and even identification documents. As a result, their families have no information about the fate of their loved ones.

According to published reports, a large number of workers without identification from Sistan and Baluchestan who were hired by contracting companies to work in this port were also among the casualties and missing.

This issue, while emphasizing the necessity of taking fundamental action to address the injustice imposed on a portion of Iranian society who are without identification documents, also highlights the government’s disregard for workers’ rights in the workplace.

These workers usually come from villages or outskirts of cities in search of work and in this process, they migrate to areas where there is a higher chance of employment. Due to their circumstances, they are forced to accept dangerous jobs. In the explosion of the Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, many of these workers lost their lives or went missing, but due to their unidentified identities, the likelihood of their families receiving support from the government and social institutions is minimal. This situation will cause the families of the killed and missing workers to face more economic difficulties than before and be deprived of social support.

It should also be noted that such a situation has led to an increase in public distrust towards the performance of government institutions, as we have previously witnessed in incidents such as the explosion and collapse of the Tabas Shah mine.

But is there a way to change these conditions and improve the situation of workers and prevent the recurrence of similar incidents?

In response, it is necessary to mention the need for certain actions, one of which is the registration of informal workers. In this regard, the government must take action to register informal workers and provide legal conditions for them. However, it should be noted that the government has even been neglectful of its own laws in various areas, including labor issues.

Strengthening supervision over workplace safety is another action that, despite the emphasis of the Labor Law of 1990 and the efforts of labor activists and organizations, has not been pursued or taken seriously by the government.

In this regard, we must refer to the statements of the Deputy Minister of Health in recent days, who said: “About 10,000 people are killed annually in work-related accidents.” In this particular case, relevant authorities have immediately promised to address and improve work environments, but the situation remains unchanged.

Training workers by labor organizations also leads to their awareness of their rights. For example, workers’ awareness of workplace safety conditions helps reduce accidents.

This point has been emphasized multiple times by independent labor activists, especially since many large industrial factories and units such as Iran Khodro still do not have Islamic Labor Councils, which are required by the 1369 Labor Law. However, neither the government nor the employers of these factories and units, along with the owners of contracting companies, allow workers and wage earners to form labor unions.

In addition, over the past years, security and judicial measures against workers, activists, and independent labor organizations have intensified.

This point is important that the existence of independent and active organizations for defending workers’ rights in areas such as employment contracts (especially for informal workers employed in contracting companies in which workers without identification were employed in Bandar Rajaei) and training in work safety principles is necessary. However, the Islamic Republic government is opposed to it and official labor organizations have also not taken necessary steps in this direction.