This is a picture of a beautiful sunset.[/caption]

این عکسی از غروب زیباست.

This is a picture of a beautiful sunset.
Amir Chamani

According to the statistics of the Statistical Center of Iran, in 2016, there were about 22 million employed individuals in various sectors in the country, of which approximately 14 million were wage-earning workers who are covered by labor laws and should be paid according to the approved regulations and benefits.

Legal gaps in the sections of labor law, wages, delays, insurance, claims, and contracts have always been a topic of discussion. One important point that should be noted regarding “wages” is the determination and payment of wages. The determination of wages or minimum wage is subject to significant legal weaknesses and ambiguities, but the payment of wages, which does not have any legal ambiguity or deficiency, is a problem in the implementation of the law and timely payment, as well as lack of follow-up in the execution. The law clearly states that workers’ wages are considered privileged debts of the employer. This means that if the employer goes bankrupt or has multiple creditors, the workers’ wages must be paid first from their assets, and then the remaining assets will be divided among the creditors according to their claims.

The labor law has been extracted from civil rights and entered into public rights. Part of this has been created by the efforts of workers to fulfill their rights and fight against employers. According to the labor law bill, three principles of labor rights, worker rights, and employer rights must be observed. However, under the policies of liberal economics and free market, these rights have always been in favor of employers. Existing legal loopholes regarding labor rights and laws have also made employers’ hands more open, leading to “legalization” of labor relations.

In all work-related matters, the government always takes the side of the employer. They are in a powerful position due to their superior status. The government also needs business owners and employers for job creation, addressing unemployment crises, economic cycles, and financial income. Therefore, it is natural that in workgroups such as labor law reform, in determining minimum wages where both labor representatives and employer representatives are present, employers benefit more. This is also evident in labor protests. When determining rights, the interests of both workers and employers are taken into account. What is important for workers and demands an increase in wages is to provide for their livelihood and preserve their human dignity. However, what is important for employers and capitalists is to lower production costs to create added value or accumulate more capital. Employers have several ways to do this; either by lowering the quality of goods, laying off and adjusting the workforce, or somehow lowering workers’ wages. This process takes place in several forms; either by depriving workers of

It is clear that the employer does not compromise on the quality of the product in order to reduce production costs, as this would lead them out of the competition cycle and towards loss or low profits. Therefore, the best way to cut costs is to adjust the workforce, increase working hours, and not to withhold the wages and benefits of workers.

All of these events, in the shadow of weakness and failure to implement the minimum requirements of labor law, are in favor of workers. The Labor Office is responsible for addressing employer violations and protecting workers’ rights. Legally, the Labor Office judges based on the existing contract between the worker and the employer. In the absence of legal labor unions and lack of supervision over the proper implementation of laws by the Labor Office, when workers’ rights are not paid, no responsible authority takes responsibility for fulfilling these rights. Workers’ complaints to the Labor Office remain unanswered, and the deadlines set by responsible institutions for the employer are ineffective. Ultimately, the ones who benefit from this are the employers themselves, who in times of crisis receive facilities from the government, but still do not use those facilities properly for the workers who are owed wages.

Finally, in the shadow of these constant labor disputes, if workers take action to demand their overdue rights and are left with no results, since they do not have any unions or supporters, and also due to the lack of recognition of strike by Article 142 of the Labor Law, if they resort to strike, sit-ins or demonstrations, they will be legally accused of disrupting public order and will be punished. However, employers are immune and will not be punished for not paying workers’ wages, as the government and employers need each other in an extra-legal manner.

“The most important and most repeated injustice and lawlessness imposed by the Supreme Labor Council and the complicit silence of a large portion of labor representatives in regards to it, is the issue of wages and the approval of minimum wage. From the time the Labor Law was passed until today, workers’ wages have never truly increased enough or even in accordance with this law; the rate of wage increases has always been behind the inflation rate. The second clause of Article 41 regarding the provision of living expenses has never been implemented and at the end of this ordeal, the current wages received are at least 80% less than the poverty line for workers, or according to official statistics, it can cover a maximum of 40% of a household’s expenses.”

Twenty-seven years ago, the government replaced the current labor law with 203 articles, replacing the labor law of 1337; a law that is still being debated for its fairness and neither workers nor employers are satisfied with it. As a result, both workers and employers have been in agreement for several years now, despite their conflicting interests, to reform the labor law and each side is seeking reforms that benefit them.

According to Article 73 of the Fifth Development Plan, the government was obligated to amend the labor law. Based on this, the tenth government sent a bill to amend the labor law to the parliament, but it was immediately deemed non-negotiable by workers and parliament members and was returned to the government for amendment. The eleventh government also put amending the labor law on its agenda, but faced more opposition from labor activists and on the verge of presidential elections, the Rouhani government withdrew the bill by using a promotional method. However, after about 8 months, there is still no news of whether or not the bill will be amended. But labor representatives are demanding that the fate of amending the labor law be determined so that it can possibly be used as a reference for setting the minimum wage for 1397 (2018-2019). With the unfairness of the minimum wage for workers – which is about one-third of the declared poverty line by this very government – workers,

According to a report by Kayhan London in November of this year, “one of the most important criticisms that labor representatives had of the proposed government bill was changes to Article 41 of the Labor Law. The current Article 41 of the Labor Law only considers two conditions, “inflation rate” and “household expenses basket,” for determining the minimum wage of workers, but the government of Prudence and Hope intended to change this article and include the condition of “economic conditions of the country” as one of the criteria for determining the minimum wage of workers. Workers believe that even these two conditions, “inflation rate” and “household expenses basket,” have never been taken into consideration fairly by the government and employers for determining the minimum wage, and now with the addition of a new condition, the situation is even more suitable for the government to further deprive workers of their rights.”

Footnotes:

1. “Ferajollahi, Kazem, the caravan needs a different strategy, the workers’ solution on 18 Esfand 1395.”

2. Workers and employers are waiting for labor law reform, Kayhan London, November 8, 2017.