Ten of thousands of Iranian workers will be jobless or months behind in their salary payments on the Persian New Year next week, according to the so-called Islamic Job Council Association of Iran.
Ali Khodai, deputy chair of the Council, said: “Salary compensations for 93,000 workers from 900 production units have not been paid during the past year. These 900 production units are owned and operated by the government or government-affiliated entities.”
He advised that if it is estimated that each of these workers has a family of four, that means that 372,000 people are affected by these economic problems and that many workers may be “embarrassed” in front of their families during this holiday.
Khodai said: “In a situation where heavy funds are set aside in this year’s budget to satisfy various work segments, allocating 4-4.5 trillion rials (approx. $285-320 million) to satisfy the needs of 93,000 families will not be a difficult task.”
This figure refers to the money needed to pay two months’ worth of workers’ salaries.
Khodai said: “Empty dining tables during the New Year look very sad for these families, and the government would better alleviate their suffering a little, by taking action.”
However, he failed to point to the true consequences of the crisis, which is that impoverished people are being forced to sell their organs or commit suicide to escape the crushing weight of poverty and that the people are only more vocal at pointing to the Regime as the true cause of the crisis. This is not about a sparse celebration. It’s about people’s lives and their desire to build an Iran that works for everyone, not just the mullahs.
But, of course, the narrative that this is just a case of people tightening their belts and limiting spending is carried in Iranian state-run media as well, with the Ebtekar newspaper writing that “people are not rushing to their New Year shopping like previous years”.
This is in no way a new phenomenon. People have witnessed high prices thanks to a devalued rial and 200% inflation for months now and the government has refused to do anything about it.
Simply, the Iranian people cannot afford to have a decent Nowruz celebration because of the ongoing economic crisis, but the actual tragedy is that people are losing their lives. The government could easily help by reducing its funding of terrorist groups or spreading some of the Supreme Leader’s billions around, but they don’t.
That is why the people will rise up this year and evict the mullahs from power.
Source » ncr-iran