Discussing justice within a government marked by oppression, crime, imprisonment, torture, and executions is both futile and irrational. Iran’s state-run daily, Ebtekar, addressed this issue, stating, “Justice is lost! Astronomical salaries are bestowed upon officials, staff, and members of state-owned companies’ boards of directors. It has nothing to do with justice; it’s merely an arbitrary withdrawal from the treasury at the behest of the wealthy.”
The issue of exorbitant incomes and their distribution is not a new one in this regime. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, has granted regime officials and their close associates unprecedented freedom to take as they please. This loyalty comes at a steep cost. The discussion of astronomical incomes has resurfaced in the context of the examination of the seventh program in the parliament. A clause in the 7th program states, “Legal salaries and benefits of employees of ministries, government institutions, and armed forces are paid in full without setting a salary and benefits ceiling.”
During a parliamentary session, one MP remarked, “This clause signifies the establishment of astronomical entitlements, and if we remove the cap on entitlements, nothing will remain under control.”
Another member of parliament expressed, “Eliminating the salary cap contradicts social justice. It is inappropriate for the parliament to abolish the salary ceiling, as this will inevitably lead to the resurgence of astronomical salaries.”
Yet another parliament representative raised the question, “Why should someone working in the comfortable conditions of Tehran receive the same salary as someone toiling in the scorching heat of the south?”
Amidst their discussions, parliament members exposed the crisis of a brain drain and the exodus of experts, which is adversely affecting Iran’s scientific community. In this regard, Ebtekar reported, “This year, a number of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences scholars have departed for foreign shores.”
Kamal Alipour, a member of the parliament, lamented, “We are faced with a situation where our pilots are seeking opportunities in Persian Gulf countries, and our doctors and specialists are emigrating, all because we have imposed a salary cap on them.”
The immigration crisis extends beyond doctors, faculty members, and specialists. A labor activist shared with Ebtekar, “We are grappling with an immigration crisis across all wage levels due to low wages, a lack of freedom of association, and job insecurity. Why should only those with access to the treasury and parliament members enjoy such salary increases? Due to the injustice in their earnings, migration now affects a broad spectrum of wage earners in the country.”
Ebtekar added, “[Mohammad] Sharifi Moghadam, Secretary General of the Home of Nurse Association (Khaneye Parastar), has reported a significant surge in the migration of nurses, solely because their salaries are unfairly low, and they endure discrimination and hardship. These nurses receive less than two million tomans for 130 hours of overtime every month, often with several months of delays.
“Mohammedzadeh Kargar, an expert working in South Pars, also sheds light on the ongoing mass exodus of skilled and experienced oil and gas workers to neighboring countries’ oil platforms, where the monthly income of oil workers is at least four to five times their earnings in Iran. After years of work, they can finally afford a house in Iran. If they were to toil on the scorching oil platforms in the south for fifty years, they still wouldn’t be able to purchase a 60-square-meter apartment!”
Regarding astronomical salaries, Ebtekar remarked, “The 93 million toman paycheck of a Ministry of Oil staff member or the several hundred million toman commission and consulting fee for certain government company board members are unrelated to service or merit. Low- and mid-level employees are confined by salary and job constraints, unable to earn more than the limits set by regulations.”
In conclusion, Ebtekar challenges those involved in embezzlement, stating, “Why does arbitrary treasury withdrawal not inflate government expenses? How is it that 60% of the country’s wage earners subsist on a monthly salary of just 9 million tomans, toiling tirelessly yet struggling to make ends meet?”
It is evident that when state-run media report on corruption and embezzlement, numerous other corruption cases remain concealed due to the regime’s harsh repression and a criminal legal and judicial system.
