The Supreme National Labor Council has finally determined how much the minimum wage should increase for both state and private employees after a long period of squabbling involving the Iranian government, labor advocates, lawmakers and employers. Workers, whose purchasing power has dwindled in the face of a surge in inflation and who have been staging numerous strikes and protests over overdue salaries and other demands, are finding the pay increases to be unimpressive.
In a 10-hour meeting starting March 18 and ending two hours after midnight, the Supreme National Labor Council finally arrived at a decision to raise the minimum wage for non-state employees by 37% to 15.2 million rials ($362) per month for the current Iranian year, which started last week. With additional benefits, the monthly salary of a worker with two children, for instance, will climb by 40% to more than 20 million rials ($476).
The week before the decision, the council had held another lengthy session, failing to reach a conclusion. The group is composed of representatives of the government, employers and employees. It is led by the minister of cooperatives, labor and social welfare. On March 18, Labor Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari said Clause 41 of Iran’s labor code would be the basis for any decision regarding the salaries. The article requires the Labor Council to raise wages in line with the inflation rate reported by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). It also calls on the council to set a minimum wage that meets the minimum costs of a household. Shariatmadari said, “The labor, employer and government representatives agreed upon the rate of inflation” they would use as the base for the increase.
The CBI, however, stopped reporting the inflation rate in January. This came as the indicator reached 42% year-on-year in December, according to the CBI, hitting the highest level in five years. The Statistical Center of Iran has been the sole reference for the inflation rate since. It put the figure at 42.3% year-on-year for February. Nonetheless, a substantial drop in the value of the Iranian currency, coupled with profiteering and systemic flaws, have pushed the figure much higher for some essential goods such as meat and vegetables. The price of red meat has jumped by up to 100%.
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