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Raise in minimum wage not enough for Iranian workers

In violation of Iran's own laws, the minimum wage rise has not kept up with the inflation rate, and this may cause more problems and protests in the near future.
An Iranian woman buys a watermelon in downtown Tehran on December 21, 2013, in preparation for the annual festival of Yalda, an ancient Zoroastrian rite held on the longest night of the year or the beginning of winter. The rite, which marks the victory of Good over Evil, is still celebrated by most Iranians even though Islam replaced Zoroastrianism as the official religion in the seventh century. Iranians traditionally spend Yalda at home with their families, reciting poetry and feasting on fruits and nuts.

Crippling US-led sanctions coupled with domestic macroeconomic mismanagement have left about 12 million Iranian workers, feeding a total population of 30 million, in desperate conditions.

Workers earning a few hundred dollars a month have fought skyrocketing inflation in recent years with empty hands. They literally have no leverage to bargain with the government and private employers over their wages and work conditions, given the lack of independent labor unions.

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