“منظوری از شهر”

“A View of the City”
Mohammad Moghimi

Human beings naturally have a desire to work. In fact, through work, humans engage in creation and innovation, and actively develop their potential talents. Through this, they fulfill their material (livelihood) and spiritual (sense of worth) needs. It can be said that the right to work is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights such as the right to education, health, food, clothing, etc. It is influential and guarantees the right to life and is necessary for the preservation of human dignity. Therefore, the root of the right to work must be sought in human nature and natural rights. The right to have a job is the logical result of the freedom to work, and it means the right to obtain a job for all individuals who are willing to work in society. In the event of not having a job, individuals should have access to support in order to compensate for the deprivation of work.

Some remember Charles Fourier (François Marie Charles Fourier) (1) as the one who first brought up the right to work. He said, “Politicians advocate for human rights, but they ignore the most important right, the right to work.” The right to work and employment is one of the most important economic, social, and cultural rights (the second generation of human rights). Describing its importance, some writers refer to unemployment as one of the most significant challenges of the contemporary world and modernity. The formation of the International Labor Organization as the first international organization is one of the first symbols of the formation of society and international law.

Some writers believe that after modernity, the most important historical event – especially in the 19th century – has been labor protests, which have sometimes led to labor revolutions. Labor revolutions have been a reaction, accompanied by violence, against inequality, injustice, and the failure to achieve the goals of the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. With the emergence of shortcomings in the liberal economic system (free economy), socialism (collective rights) gradually became the focus of equality and justice against liberalism (individual rights and freedom). As a result, new social and justice-oriented laws such as labor rights were formed. With the establishment of labor rights and a new support system, the welfare state was created. The welfare state, or social democracy, had created a balance between these two systems, in which economic, social, and cultural rights were achieved in most countries of the world, especially in European countries (the most prominent example being the Scandinavian countries). However, after the

The formation of the welfare state led to the elevation of labor rights as one of the subjects of economic, social, and cultural rights. It is worth mentioning that labor revolutions, which occurred in response to exploitation and injustices, played the most important role in identifying and recognizing the second generation of human rights. Now, workers had legal rights that were referred to as labor rights and freedoms. On the other hand, governments also became responsible for the duties and responsibilities towards the working class.

Rights such as freedom of work, the right to have a job and occupation, the right to receive equal pay for equal work, freedom of association, the right to strike, the right of workers to participate in determining working conditions and company management collectively, and so on, are among the rights and freedoms related to work and workers that have been recognized in international human rights documents. These rights are also recognized in our country’s constitution and labor law, except for the right to strike. However, some legal experts believe that articles 142 and 143 of the labor law implicitly recognize the right to strike. This interpretation seems correct, as laws related to human rights and citizenship should be interpreted broadly in favor of citizens. It is worth mentioning that the right to strike is not absolute and has principles and exceptions. In fact, the right to strike should not lead to the deprivation of other rights and freedoms. The law sets out conditions for financial compensation for not working (not receiving pay), prior notice of a

The mentioned changes have also had an impact on our country and some of the benefits and challenges of labor rights and workers in Iran are affected by them. However, it is unfair to attribute most of the problems in this field to these changes. Therefore, it must be accepted that most of the problems faced by our labor society have internal origins. The recent protests by workers, especially against delays in their wages, are one of the examples of problems and challenges of Iran’s labor society. It is appropriate for the government to use the legal capacities available in this regard and interact with labor unions and associations to solve the problems and challenges facing the labor society. For example, representatives of workers participate in resolving disputes between workers and employers according to Articles 157 to 166 of the Labor Law and Article 43 of the Social Security Law of 1354 (the Primary Dispute Resolution Committee of Social Security Claims). On the other hand, it is possible that the Labor Law may have shortcomings; in this case

Notes:

1. French socialist economist

2. Labor rights, social security rights, the right to minimum welfare and living facilities, the right to health, the right to education, the right to have suitable housing, and so on, are all subjects of economic, social, and cultural rights.

3. The union is formed from a coalition of several syndicates.