Fatemeh Mohammadian, the head of the Supreme Association of Labor Unions of Iran, referring to the status of holding another meeting of the Supreme Labor Council and the issue of increasing workers' wages, said: "The new meeting of the Supreme Labor Council has not yet been held, and so far no specific time has been announced for its holding. In the meeting we had last week, it was decided that another meeting would be held soon, which will likely take place early next week."
Reasons for the delay in holding the Supreme Labor Council meeting
Mohammadian explained the reason for the unspecified timing of the council's next meeting: "Due to the occasion of Safety and Health Day and Firefighting, labor relations were involved in programs and missions, and they had meetings and seminars in Kerman and some other regions." This situation has caused the new meeting to be postponed.
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Initial proposals for increasing workers' wages
The head of the Supreme Association of Labor Unions of Iran continued: "In the previous meeting, initial discussions were held regarding the increase in workers' wages. Of course, the topic had its challenges and negotiations took place, but ultimately it was stated that an amount would be added to the wages. It was decided that a record would be prepared, but as far as I remember, it was agreed that for now, the record would be prepared but not signed by anyone so that the issue could be finalized in the next meeting."
She also referred to the discussion about the amount and manner of increasing wages and said: "Initially, the discussion was that the increase should be more based on the base wage, and the labor community and labor organizations also emphasized more on increasing the base wage. Labor relations were also in agreement with this issue, but after that, employers suggested that the increase be applied equally to the base wage and other items such as the worker's benefit and housing allowance."
Challenges of increasing wages in the current conditions
Mohammadian emphasized that the increase in the base wage will definitely take place, but given the inflation situation, this increase may have less impact. She stated: "With a wage increase, no matter how much the amount is, nothing will be resolved. The issue is not just the increase in the wage number; in my opinion, we should also think about controlling inflation."
She noted: "If the wage increase is to be in line with inflation, naturally, the amount of increase must go very high, and with the numbers being discussed, the issue cannot be resolved. Personally, I am not very much in favor of determining numbers in this way; a set of factors should be considered, and it should be clarified what actions we are taking to control inflation and what plans we have for increasing wages."
Mohammadian concluded by saying: "It is necessary to conduct more precise and serious expert work, but given the current conditions, unfortunately, it may not be possible for the authorities to carry out all these actions." These remarks come at a time when workers are deeply concerned about their living conditions and the impact of wage increases on their daily lives.
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