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این یک عنوان است

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I must confess that I am not an expert on labor issues and labor relations; however, as a human rights researcher and activist, I closely follow labor news. Therefore, in this article, I will not delve into analyzing labor issues, their specific demands, various strikes, and the relationships between workers and employers (capitalists and factory owners, government, and security forces that make up a significant part of employers). Since I have studied international power structures for years and have written about international political economy, democracy, and human rights, what I will try to do here – in a brief manner – is to describe a scenario and a portrayal of a certain aspect of social life in Iran – as I see it – in a theatrical manner. It is natural that this article is not impartial and is written in a narrative and idealistic way.

There is no authority over the words of the article because it seems that their ears are closed and the public policies of the government are based on a non-democratic and authoritarian system and they act accordingly. Although the article is addressed to the people, unfortunately, the people are not newspaper readers in general and only a small percentage of workers, considering the conditions described below and the problems of life, follow economic and social issues in a theoretical and general way. This does not mean that the workers/people have little knowledge of the current economic and daily life conditions. On the contrary, the entire authoritarian system crushes them every day and they understand it with their own flesh and skin.

On the subject of the article, there are researchers, theorists, human rights activists, and forces for change. I, and generally the peace line (in my interpretation), is not a political movement and does not have political agendas for change; our fundamental desire is to strive for understanding the problems of our society and analyzing social issues, and we advocate for the existence of security, peace, and social welfare for the people.

The living conditions of the majority of people in Iran can be described as one of the worst, most chaotic, hardest, and most hopeless forms of human life. Perhaps Charles Baudelaire’s dark description of human life has a lot in common with the lives of our people. Baudelaire writes: “The image of human life/humanity today is mixed with fear, in a desert of horror.”

First curtain

The situation of workers in various cities of Iran, especially industrial cities, can be described/seen as follows:

Inflation, critical and dire financial conditions in the country’s economy, increasing prices, layoffs and mass unemployment, delayed payment of wages, and the softening of workers to receive months of overdue wages – wages that are below the poverty line – describe the general situation of this class. More than ten million Iranian workers and their families live in very difficult conditions. Most of them do not have personal housing, rents are unbearable, and perhaps more than half of workers’ income is spent on rent. Suicide among workers has increased, and divorce and door-to-door begging of individuals and working-class families have become a fundamental problem in Iranian society. I will not write about the hundreds of thousands of children who sleep on the streets and are now being collected from the streets; the sun has come, the reason for the sun. The recent strike of Haft Tappeh sugar workers is a clear example of this scenario!

It can be said that the wave of privatization and sale of state-owned factories to military and security forces and individuals affiliated with the government, which has increased since 2005, has led to the rapid and horrific expulsion of workers. This trend is still on the rise with serious changes in subsidies. With the orders of the Supreme Leader and the legal interpretations of various principles, especially Article 44 of the Constitution, the ground has practically been prepared for plundering national wealth and expanding the army and financial thefts. The sale of factories to security forces such as the Revolutionary Guards and government officials has practically led to the transfer of a significant portion of the economy and production to unskilled forces. We know that the government and forces affiliated with the government manage a significant share of imports and exports. With the economic blockade, uncontrolled imports, smuggling of goods, and the freedom of commercial and broker activities, many production units have been dissolved despite having technical and efficient equipment and experienced workforce.

Intensification of economic poverty, profanity and the sale of children and women – even legally -, increase in addiction, housing shortage and high rent prices, high divorce rates, increase in suicide, mental illnesses with a high unemployment rate of over 30%, can be described as the first act and a summary of the first curtain.

In this way, the deep crisis in all social and economic fields is a situation that can explain the political, economic, security, and social conditions of Iran. It can be confidently said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been facing crises throughout its existence. If Iran were a democratic country, the political and economic structure of society would have changed many times by now. Maintaining the political and social system of the country has only been possible through the use of violence, imprisonment, execution, and suppression of the human rights of the people and various social groups.

Second act

On the sidelines of the scene, we witness the former president sitting with his colleagues. In another scene, we see that the president before him has been banned from leaving. Another president has mysteriously passed away, and the former prime minister and former speaker of parliament, both official candidates for the presidency, are under house arrest.

Among the curtains, the current and elected president of the “Hope Era” speaks of his difficulties in advancing his plans, while also criticizing officials who lack expertise. The judiciary is managed by the Supreme Leader’s office and its independence is questioned by both the government and the legal opposition in parliament and the government. Mr. Ahmadinejad reveals his next revelations and accuses the head of the judiciary of being involved in theft and corruption.

The legislative power is facing a particular turmoil. Anti-women laws are being passed. Privatization laws are being approved and completed. Physical and theoretical conflicts are at their peak and this faction is engaged in looting and legalizing the wealth belonging to the people with the other faction. In the midst of this chaos and turmoil, security forces/IRGC determine and advance Iran’s foreign policy. The presence of the IRGC in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, and the conflict over the continuation or reduction of these processes is another conflict among the officials in power.

Unfortunately, the political society in Iran has become more militarized and securitized in the past ten years, and the Revolutionary Guard and paramilitary forces also act as political and economic organizations. The Revolutionary Guard has serious control over the economy of the society. Other semi-governmental organizations such as the Jihad and Basij also have a share in this. The percentage of private sector assets is shrouded in ambiguity and the boundaries between private, government, and semi-governmental ownership are very blurred. This is because the officials of the Islamic Republic do not prioritize the public interest over their own personal/group interests.

What can explain this curtain – which can also be called negative anarchism – is the political and economic turmoil in all social spheres and the crisis management method and the pyramid power policy. No power is independent, they compete with each other but all these powers are interdependent. This is the reason for the durability of the system!

Third curtain

Women’s society and civil institutions, despite their efforts, face many challenges. One of the main reasons for the suppression of their demands for equality is the existence of an authoritarian government and a patriarchal system in society. Other trade and civil institutions are also suppressed. Journalists, researchers, lawyers, labor representatives, and human rights activists are arrested and imprisoned. There are many examples and instances of this. The situation is the same for trade and labor unions. In Iran, due to the current conditions, there are practically no independent unions. Officials of the Workers’ House are in contact with the government and the government’s economic/political policies are the basis of their work.

Curtains and other scenes can also be added to this tragic and social disaster in Iran. For example, policies that discriminate against religious minorities, ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, physical and mental disabilities, etc. All of these groups need associations, unions, and democratic and civil institutions that can defend their rights at the neighborhood, district, city, province, and country levels. The freedom of societies and other civil and political freedoms are essential needs that can be the foundation for independent trade unions. No government or economy can meet the needs of citizens alone. The development of organized and independent trade unions is the guarantor of peace, social, cultural, and trade security for different social groups.

In this way, independent civil organizations are a fundamental factor that can be one of the main causes of the crisis in Iranian society. When we look at the structures of Western democratic societies, we realize that there are three powerful social/political institutions and organizations whose functions are determined by law or indirectly by social traditions. These three institutions are:

1. The Institute of Politics; which is responsible for planning and managing society through elections and the people.

2. The Economic/Market Institution, which is a non-democratic institution managed by private companies and individuals. In the past three decades, the role of this institution in political power has greatly increased and the economic policy agenda of society is dictated by this sector.

3. The third domain; organized civil society is one of the important pillars of Western liberal democracy that influences the two previous institutions.

Each of these institutions has its own space and sphere of action/power, and their functions are explained by law. In the third sphere, there are trade unions and labor unions. In Scandinavian countries and northern Europe, annual or long-term meetings and contracts are held between these three institutions to reach agreements on issues such as increasing workers’ salaries and other important matters. We know that the existence of social insurance and unemployment insurance is one of the characteristics of Western countries with national welfare policies.

Non-democratic and authoritarian governments lack it for various reasons. As mentioned, the independence of action of each of these institutions and their subordinate organizations is enshrined and guaranteed by law. For this reason, labor unions intervene in legal policies and other issues related to work.

Fourth curtain

In this regard, it should be emphasized that the depiction and narrative of the problems of society and the authoritarian and repressive policies of the ruling powers towards civil and democratic movements is not because this is the ultimate and final fate of our society; rather, it is for the purpose of understanding, solidarity, and presenting solutions to overcome the crisis. I will illustrate the final curtain with one or two examples and a quote from Vaclav Havel.

Most of us witnessed the era of Soviet power and the Eastern Bloc and its collapse. The regime of apartheid in South Africa, the long-term imprisonment of Nelson Mandela, his release and becoming president of South Africa, is still fresh in our memory. We also remember the struggle of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the Prague Spring, its suppression, and the defeat of real existing socialism. We also remember the democratic changes in Latin America, which were once the most brutal and authoritarian political systems supported by the American military and American generals in Chile, Argentina, and other neighboring countries. Now none of these powers remain and most of these governments have peacefully changed. I will quote Vaclav Havel’s interpretation of these events:

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“Some made fun of me/laughed, saying that such thoughts and spreading them are misleading. They called me Don Quixote, fighting with imaginary windmills. At first, this doubt seemed logical to me. At that time, Leonid Brezhnev, who had sent tanks and Soviet soldiers to suppress the protests in Prague ten years earlier, was still in power. The Eastern Bloc was competing with the Western countries with all its might.”

The solidarity movement in Poland, a neighboring country, which achieved remarkable successes against a despised and unwanted government, which gave energy and power to other Eastern European countries and millions of other people who wanted to live in a democratic country, had not yet been born. Myself, like my other friends, have been imprisoned for long periods of time, and for many years our freedom was supposed to be taken away.

But only eleven years after writing the article “What ordinary people can do with an honest and truthful life,” I/we witnessed the great victories of the people in the region – including my own country – which later became known as the Velvet Revolution. In November 1989, Czechoslovakia, along with other Eastern Bloc countries, triumphed over the violence of state and official socialist governments. The collapse and downfall of all these countries/Eastern Bloc did not last more than a week.

Although these changes were not ideal, they were successful in altering the balance of power among the existing political systems at that time. There are many other successful civil and popular actions that may have been small, but were effective. If a method or approach to fighting fails, new and innovative solutions can be adopted to overcome obstacles in the path towards democracy. Experience has shown that with determination, proper organization, and the use of civil methods, human rights actions will be successful.