The head of the Mashhad Worker’s House says the pay increase given to workers for the New Year does not match the rate of inflation and is at least 20 percent lower than what workers need to cover minimum household expenses.
ILNA reports that Hossein Rasouli predicted a harsh year for all workers in view of the economic conditions, saying: “Many workers begin the New Year having received no wages for several months and many others have become unemployed as their contracts have not been renewed.”
The Supreme Council of Labour has set wage increases at 25 percent. Meanwhile, the Central Bank has announced that the current inflation rate is 31.8 percent. Labour activists say, however, that many necessities have risen in price by 150 percent.
Independent labour organizations in Iran have predicted “poverty and catastrophic hunger for millions of workers’ families” because of the inadequate New Year’s wage increase.
Hossein Rasouli criticized the government for failing to support the manufacturing sector after it scrapped government subsidies on energy, raising costs for factories and leading many to close.
