The purchasing power of workers returned to 14 years ago / Who pulled the brakes on salary increase?

The purchasing power of workers has returned to the level of 2011 and wages cover only 28% of living expenses; Now the fate of the restoration of rights is waiting for the decision of the Supreme Labor Council.

The representative of the workers in the Supreme Labor Council, criticizing the suspension of negotiations for the restoration of workers' wages, says that the purchasing power of wage earners has returned to the level of the end of 2013; He announced the initial agreement on the wage increase figures in the September meeting and emphasized that the recent jump in the exchange rate and the increase in the cost of living made it necessary to review the previous agreements and hold an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Labor Council.

According to the labor representative of the Supreme Labor Council, the negotiations for the restoration of workers' wages had progressed until the stage of partial agreement on the figures and the preparation of the draft resolution, still remains undecided. Ali Khodayi, a member of the Supreme Labor Council, criticized the performance of the Ministry of Labor and the government in following up on this issue, saying that in the circumstances that the cost of living and the exchange rate have increased, the time for holding a meeting to decide on workers' wages has not yet been announced.

Ali Khodayi, a member of the Supreme Labor Council, describes the living conditions of workers as "awful" and says that the purchasing power of wages has returned to the conditions at the end of 2011; A period when, according to him, workers' wages covered only about 28% of living expenses. He believes that the increase in the cost of living in recent weeks has increased the need to revise the wages, but the process of wage negotiations is still stalled.

Wage negotiations had progressed to the threshold of agreement

Referring to the negotiation process in the Supreme Labor Council, Khodayi says that the wage review was put on the agenda at the August meeting at the insistence of the labor representatives, and the wage committee also started its activities. According to him, on the 28th of September, negotiations were held for about six hours about salary increase and the parties reached an agreement on the figures.

This member of the Supreme Labor Council says that at that point, it was even possible to talk about the partial preparation of the resolution and the employer's team had also accepted the proposed proposals. However, the sharp increase in prices in the following weeks has changed the economic conditions and invalidated the previous agreements.

According to Khodayi, the main difference between labor representatives in those negotiations was not about the principle of wage increase, but about how to apply it; The increase should be included in the basic salary or be paid in the form of benefits such as housing allowance and labor allowance.

Dispute over the basic salary and pension of retirees

Khodai emphasizes that the labor representatives' insistence on increasing the basic salary is related to the situation of social security pensioners, in addition to the workers. According to him, an increase in the basic salary can affect pension calculations for retirees, while an increase in some benefits does not necessarily have such an effect.

In response to criticisms that consider the follow-up of pensioners' issues outside the duties of working workers' representatives, he says that the decisions of the Supreme Labor Council also affect the lives of pensioners, and therefore the interests of this group cannot be ignored.

This labor activist also criticizes what he calls the social security organization's attempt to influence the negotiations without accepting the corresponding costs, and claims that this organization, even without being a member of the Supreme Labor Council, used its opinion in the decision-making process.

The government prevented the continuation of negotiations?

A member of the Supreme Labor Council says that after the parties came close to an agreement in the September meeting, it was decided that the members would not comment on the details of the negotiations and the issue would be followed up for coordination with the government. At the same time, he warned that if the resolution is not announced, the demands of the workers may change with the change in economic conditions.

According to Khodayi, the labor representatives were waiting for the meeting until last week and followed up on the issue from the Ministry of Labor, but they have not yet received a letter to convene a meeting of the Supreme Labor Council.

He blames the government, the Ministry of Labor and the Minister personally for stopping the wage increase and says: "The Government and the Ministry of Labor and the Minister stopped the wage increase process."

Referring to the increase in the dollar rate from about 190,000 tomans to 263,000 tomans in a space of about one month, Khodayi emphasizes that such a change will inevitably increase household expenses. However, he said at the time of the interview, he had no new official information to accurately calculate the cost-of-living effects of the increase.

The purchasing power of workers has reached the level of 1391

By comparing the current situation with the end of 2013, Khodayi says that the purchasing power of workers' wages has returned to the level of that period; When wages covered only about 28% of living expenses. Of course, he emphasizes that comparing figures alone is not enough to understand today's situation, because the economic power of households to bear the pressures of living has also decreased.

According to this member of the Supreme Labor Council, even without considering the fate of the end-of-year wage resolution, the cost of living situation at the bottom of society shows that workers are facing heavy pressure. The increase in prices in recent weeks has also made this situation more difficult.

Khodayi says that the labor team will request to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Labor Council, but the pursuit of this demand should not be limited only to the representatives present in the council. In his opinion, other activists and labor organizations should also take action for the return of the government to negotiations.

In response to criticism about his silence in recent weeks, he emphasizes that this silence does not mean retreating from the demands of the workers. Khodai says that considering the war conditions, he has preferred not to involve the labor community in further tensions until there is no need for field support; However, it continues to pursue negotiations with the government.

In this way, while the representative of the workers emphasizes the necessity of revising the wages according to the new economic conditions, the time of holding the extraordinary session of the Supreme Labor Council is still not clear and the demand for the restoration of wages remains pending the government's decision.