Due to soaring inflation in Iran, the actual purchasing power of workers’ wages has plummeted by half in the final months of the year. The exorbitant inflation in food prices has particularly contributed to this sharp decline.
Looking ahead to 2024, President Ebrahim Raisi of the Iranian regime does not plan to authorize a wage increase exceeding 20% for minimum wage earners, ushering in a series of salary reductions for the upcoming year.
Under the governance of this regime in recent years, workers’ wages have not been increased in accordance with changes to inflation rates and costs of living.
The cost of living basket, as determined by the labor committee and experts, is deemed negligible. Ultimately, worker wages will be adjusted based on a predetermined policy.
Essentially, the government unilaterally dictates workers’ rights, irrespective of the prevailing inflation, underscoring its anti-labor policies.
In 2023, the minimum wage saw a meager increase of 27%, starkly contrasting with the official inflation rate of 44%.
In 2022, the minimum wage experienced a notable 57% increase, surpassing the official inflation rate of 46% during that period. Similarly, in 2021, the minimum wage rose by 39%, juxtaposed with an inflation rate of 42%.
The trend continued in 2020, witnessing a 15% hike in minimum wage against an inflation rate of 36%. In 2019, the minimum salary saw a 36% surge, contrasted with an inflation rate of 41%.
To summarize, the progression of workers’ wages from 2019 to 2023 recorded increases of 36%, 15%, 39%, 57%, and 27%, respectively.
It is noteworthy that the official inflation rate experienced more significant growth during the same timeframe. Despite Principle 41 of the regime’s Labor Law stipulating that salary increases should align with the inflation rate, the official figures are not reflective of the actual situation, seemingly tailored to the government’s political agenda.
The regime’s rationale for limiting salary increments revolves around the claim of inflationary pressures, which, upon scrutiny, appears to be a false pretext.
It is crucial to acknowledge that over the past few years, workers’ wages have not kept pace with the official inflation rate. Moreover, there is no evidence of a decrease in the inflation rate during this period.
Therefore, the regime’s argument lacks economic and scientific support. Ironically, the economic policies implemented by the regime have exerted a more pronounced influence on the escalating inflation rate.
Actions such as printing fiat money, borrowing from the central bank, increasing liquidity, and maintaining a negative balance in the dollar price with the national currency have significantly contributed to this phenomenon.
The situation has reached a critical point, evident in the fact that the regime’s statistical organizations have refrained from publishing data in this domain since 2021.
The reluctance to disclose any statistics, even if they are manipulated, stems from the fear that such information would unveil the dire conditions prevailing within the regime.
According to the outdated statistics, household expenditures on food items ranged from 20% to 46% of salaries. However, recent media data from 2023 indicates a staggering increase, with the share of wages spent on food items soaring to 65%.
In the latter half of 2021, the dollar stood at 25,000 tomans, a figure that escalated to over 50,000 tomans by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the official price of goods, particularly food items, has purportedly surged by more than 50%.
This is notwithstanding any consideration of unofficial or actual inflation. Notably, throughout this period, workers’ wages have remained stagnant, untouched by any adjustments.
Consequently, in the face of inflation exceeding 50% and a halving of the toman’s value, the real value of wages has plummeted by 50%.
In essence, the earnings of salary workers have been slashed by half within the span of a year. To put it in perspective, the daily income of a worker, when measured in dollars, was approximately 8 dollars in 2021.
Fast forward to 2023, and this figure has dwindled to about 3.5 dollars, given the dollar’s surge beyond 50,000 tomans.
Consequently, the actual value of workers’ wages, initially at 177,000 tomans in 2023, translates to a diminished sum of 88,500 tomans.
This comes at a time when the regime is contemplating a meager increase of less than 20% in the minimum salary for 2024, perpetuating the ongoing trend of real wage depreciation.
