What Became of Restoring Workers' Rights? / Urgent Letter Sent to Labor Minister

Workers' representatives on the Supreme Labor Council sent a letter to the Labor Minister demanding an urgent extraordinary session to review the 1405 minimum wage and restore workers' pay in light of rising living costs.

In a letter to Ahmed Midari, the Minister of Cooperation, Labor and Social Welfare, the members of the labor group in the Supreme Labor Council demanded the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Labor Council with the agenda of wage revision.

With respect and wishing God's success to your Excellency, we hereby bring to your attention the request for convening an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Labor Council with a specific agenda (revision of the 1405 Dostmez) with reference to Article 168 of the Labor Law and according to the request of the members of the Supreme Labor Council, Mr. Ali Khodayi Ahmadreza Moini and Ayat Asadi.

According to paragraph 10 of the Wage Decree of 1405, the revision of the cost basket of working families is expected by the end of September of this year. Now that the deadline has passed and in a situation where the economic developments and the sharp and continuous increase in the prices of basic goods and services during the first six months of the year have put unprecedented pressure on the livelihoods of families and severely reduced the purchasing power of workers, it is an undeniable necessity to hold a meeting of the Supreme Labor Council and urgently review and revise the wages. He considered it merely an economic action or a union demand and limited to the working community. Revision of wages in the current situation is a national issue with direct social, economic and livelihood consequences.

Workers, as a large part of the country's productive population, cannot rely solely on wages against the unprecedented economic developments of recent months and the increase in the necessary costs of living, which have been determined based on past economic conditions. In addition to threatening the livelihood of millions of working families, the continuation of the gap between income and real costs of living will also show its effects in the reduction of public purchasing power, the record of effective demand, social damage and the weakening of the economic security of families.

On the other hand, the determination of wages in accordance with the real cost of living is one of the requirements of Article 41 of the Labor Law, and the review foreseen in Clause 10 of the Wage Decree of 1405 cannot remain at the level of an approved forecast and be passed without effective review and action. In a situation where the economic developments of recent months have imposed heavy pressure on the workers' table, it is expected that the Supreme Labor Council, understanding the national and social dimensions of the issue, will fulfill its legal and social responsibility in a timely manner; Therefore, with regard to the above, we request you to order an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Labor Council to be held immediately after receiving this amount with the agenda of reviewing the cost basket of working families and considering the decision to revise the salary of 1305.

It is obvious that the delay in dealing with this demand will not only cause the continuation of the reduction in the purchasing power of workers, but it can also expand the range of social and economic consequences caused by livelihood pressure.

"Today, the timely action of the Supreme Labor Council in reviewing and deciding on wage revision is a necessity beyond an administrative and economic decision and part of the government's responsibility in protecting livelihoods, human dignity and social stability."