New data exposes severe safety failures in mines and construction sites, while insecure contracts leave workers without legal protection
A new report from Tose’e Irani underscores a growing catastrophe in Iran’s workplaces, where the lives of miners and industrial workers are routinely reduced to the monetary value of “blood money” rather than protected through safety, oversight, and accountability.
According to official data from Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organization, nearly 2,000 workers lost their lives in workplace incidents in 2024, while more than 26,000 others were injured. These figures confirm that Iran’s industrial sectors—especially mining and construction—remain profoundly unsafe, despite repeated warnings and previous tragedies.
Labor law expert Farshad Esmaeili highlighted the severity of the crisis, noting that in 2022 alone, Iran recorded 38,734 workplace accidents, resulting in 455 deaths and over 1,000 cases of permanent disability. The mining sector has been particularly hazardous: in 2021, coal mines alone accounted for 367 recorded accidents.
Esmaeili emphasized that the core issue is the systematic failure to implement safety and health standards across Iran’s mines. Of the country’s 6,025 active mines in 2022, only 23% had any form of safety and health unit, leaving the overwhelming majority of mining operations operating without basic protections for workers. Even in the first half of last year, 12 fatal mining accidents were reported.
The province of Kerman, home to some of Iran’s largest coal and copper mines, remains one of the most dangerous regions for miners. While official organizations rarely release detailed statistics, local media reports continue to document deadly incidents across the province, reflecting an ongoing pattern of neglect and mismanagement.
Beyond unsafe conditions, Esmaeili pointed to another structural injustice: the widespread use of precarious employment contracts. He noted that in mining regions—including Kerman—many workers are employed on contractual, daily-wage, or seasonal terms, with some lacking full insurance coverage or having no insurance at all.
This precarious employment structure means that when accidents occur, workers suffer the most, as their contractual status often prevents them from claiming full compensation, asserting their rights, or even being recognized properly in legal proceedings.
As Iran’s mining sector continues to generate revenue for regime-linked entities, the people who extract those resources remain trapped in a cycle of danger, insecurity, and legal vulnerability—highlighting once again the regime’s chronic inability, or unwillingness, to protect the lives of its workers.
