According to Khabar Online, the debate over wage increases and compensating workers’ wage backlog continues in a situation where the cost of living has increased rapidly and the purchasing power of working families is under more pressure than in the past. At the same time, the statements of some government officials about the inflationary nature of salary increases have once again turned the relationship between wages and inflation into one of the axes of disagreement in economic policy.
In an interview with Khabar Online, Dariush Heidari criticized the recent statements of the first vice president about the effect of a 60% increase in wages on a 30-60% increase in prices, saying that it is not clear on what economic basis such an estimate was made. According to him, in a situation where workers are facing heavy inflation and are waiting for the implementation of the wage decree and the restoration of their rights, attributing the high price to the increase in wages is ignoring the main factors of inflation.
Referring to the previous promises of the Minister of Labor about controlling inflation and the possibility of restoring wages in the second half of the year, this labor activist says that six months have passed since last year and inflation has still increased. According to him, the increase in wages by itself does not mean the creation of inflation, and the main factors of the increase in prices should be sought in economic policies and government decisions.
Heydari emphasizes that this year’s salary was determined based on last year’s inflation, and its purpose was to compensate part of the increase in living costs. Referring to the limited share of wages in the finished price of goods, he says: “Increasing wages is to compensate the living expenses of workers; Costs that have increased due to inflation.
Also, referring to the role of the government in currency and economic policy, he believes that an important part of the currency market is under the control of the government, and institutions such as the Ministry of Economy, the Central Bank, and the Planning and Budget Organization play a role in economic decisions. Therefore, the responsibility cannot be placed on workers, employees and retirees whenever policymakers fail to control inflation.
The parliament should hold the government accountable for the implementation of the wage resolution
In another part of this conversation, Heydari criticizes the non-implementation of the Supreme Labor Council’s wage resolution and believes that the parliament should use its monitoring tools to force the government to implement the law instead of commenting on the necessity of salary increases.
He says that the Minister of Labor is obliged to implement the resolution of the Supreme Labor Council; A resolution that he himself has signed. According to this labor activist, if the minister refuses to implement the legal decision, the members of parliament should hold the government accountable through the social commission, the labor faction and other monitoring tools.
Referring to the possibility of the Administrative Court of Justice entering disputes related to wage approvals, Heydari says that the experience of labor complaints in the past years has not been very promising. According to him, the labor representatives have repeatedly protested against the wage approvals and even demanded their cancellation, but these protests have practically failed to prevent the implementation of the disputed decisions.
He believes that in addition to bearing economic pressures, workers should not be responsible for following up on the implementation of laws alone. From his point of view, the parliament, as a legislative body, is also responsible for monitoring the good implementation of laws and cannot remain passive in the face of non-implementation of legal approvals.
There are no independent labor organizations
This expert in the labor field further considers the lack of independent organizations as one of the most important obstacles in pursuing workers’ demands. According to him, the groups that operate under the title of labor organization, in many cases do not have the necessary independence and power to defend the rights of the labor force.
Heydari believes that an organization can be a true representative of workers when the employer does not influence its structure and decision-making. Criticizing the presence of company managers in the position of labor representatives, he says that in such a situation, organizations cannot be expected to follow up on the real demands of the workforce.
He also considers the Ministry of Labor to be responsible for monitoring the activities of organizations and believes that this Ministry should use the capacity of its inspectors to prevent the influence of employers and their representatives in the structure of labor organizations.
At the same time, Heydari sees a direct connection between the lack of independent organization and the weakening of job security. According to him, when workers do not enjoy job security and do not have the possibility of independent organization, their power to bargain and pursue their demands is greatly reduced; Even if these demands have legal support.
The full text of this conversation here bread
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