12) CONSEQUENCES OF ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION IN IRAN
From Nameh Mardom, central organ of the Tudeh Party of Iran, May 21, 2012 (abridged)
Economic liberalization in Iran has had an enormous impact on the livelihood and job security of the working class and other working people. Official reports and data reveal the plight of working people all across the country. Everyday there are new reports of extensive layoffs, prevalence of temporary contracts, and forcefully signed blank contracts.
A report by the Iranian Mehr News Agency on April 27 points out the official approval of the government, giving full authority to state institutions and agencies to lay off workers with less than one year employment: "In the new Iranian year (since March 21st, 2012), some of the state departments have already started to `adjust the workforce'... (There are now) dilemmas of temporary and short‑term contracts, and the loss of job security as a result, and increased pressure of employers on workers... The ratification of the cabinet to allow signing of up to 80% temporary contracts, highlights the trend in the growth in such contracts... A spokesperson of employers said that on average, 40% of public employees have been hired for less than one year, and a few state departments and offices have already announced that they no longer need those employees and no more contracts would be renewed."
According to statistics published by the state institutions of the Islamic Republic, in the past year, more than 100,000 workers have been laid off. The Iranian labour news agency ILNA reported on April 23 that "the general secretary of the `House of Workers' has declared the situation of industries in Iran as critical and said that according to official statistics, 100,000 workers lost their jobs in 1,000 companies."
ILNA also reported on May 1 that "As a result of not paying the planned subsidies to industry, in the last year, 300 manufacturing companies went bankrupt, and in the same period, more than 2,700 businesses were operating under critical conditions; just in the large manufacturing units, more than 12% of contract workers were laid off."
This extensive wave of layoffs and prevalence of temporary contracts and blank contracts that workers are forced to sign (currently encompassing 80% of the entire workforce) has adversely impacted the union movement both quantitatively and qualitatively. The overwhelming majority of experts agree that with the second phase of the so‑called "targeted subsidies" (liberalization of economy and prices) a major portion of the industrial workers will lose their jobs and will be tossed in the long line of the unemployed. This is the root cause of the unpaid wages in almost all of the service and manufacturing industries.
On one hand, the dominance of the parasitic and non‑production economy [importing with oil dollars] will drive the industries to bankruptcy and slump, and with the economic liberalization, the cost of production will increase and therefore the pressure on workers will increase; and on the other hand, the low level of wages is driving millions of working families to the verge of devastation.
Earlier this year, ILNA pointed out the dire situation: "Late last year, the High Council of Labour ratified a (disgraceful) minimum wage, depriving the workers of earning a decent wage. The current wages are under the poverty line. Such wages will choke the manufacturing industry." With the new wave of staggering price increases in recent weeks, the subject of fair wages has once more become a serious and heated debate.
Shargh newspaper reported on May 6 that "With the increased gap between the minimum wage and the subsistence basket of a working family in recent years, with the increasing gap between incomes and expenses, the government's ratified $216/month minimum wage for this year will cover only about 40% of the expenses, and the workers are faced with a $130 shortage which has forced 50% of them to seek a second job. In past years, despite a 9 to 20% increase in the minimum wage of the workers and those who are covered under the Labour Law, in every year, a working family has not been able to balance its expenses and income. Frequent price hikes have exacerbated this situation."
Examination of the official statistics of the "Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran" shows that the actual wages of workers, considering inflation, are much lower than the nominal paid wage... The living standards of the working class and other working people have sharply dropped.
ILNA reported just before May Day 2012: "60% inflation in some consumer items has made the lives of workers much harder. Considering how many days worth of their pay they have to spend just to buy one kilogram of imported frozen meat or a dozen eggs, one could picture the livelihood of workers."
Examining the challenges and difficulties that working people are facing, the direct relation between the dominance of the non‑productive economy and the debilitation of industry, and the exacerbation of the lives of the workers could clearly be recognized. More accurately, in the assessment of the current protest movement of the workers, their demands, the level of organization of workers, and issues like these, the devastating role of the social‑economical policies of the theocratic regime of Iran should not be overlooked or under‑estimated.
As such, a successful struggle for the trade rights and interest of workers without the fight against the anti‑popular policies of the ruling reaction is not possible. In other words, there is an inherent and integral link between the trade unions and the political struggle. For this fundamental reason, the labour movement in Iran needs to strengthen its ranks and brace its ties with the general national struggle of the people.
It goes without saying that the effective union struggle does not happen in a vacuum and is not unrelated to the balance of forces in the political scene, but occurs in the context of the current political developments and class make‑up of society. The secret to success of the labour movement is to pay careful attention to political trends and the struggle against the theocratic tyranny that dominates the political superstructure of the parasitic, brokerage‑based and non‑productive economy and economic relations of the country.
Without a broader alliance in the current union movement, without tying and meshing together the trade and the political struggles, and without an effective confrontation against the socio‑economic policies of the theocratic regime, the current dire situation will continue, and the workers and working people of Iran will remain deprived of their rights and at the same time, be vulnerable to the wide‑ranging attacks of capitalism.
(The above article is from the June 16-30, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)