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Iran's Minimum Wage Increase Scorned as Too Low

by Michael Lipin

   Iran's latest annual increase of its minimum wage drew complaints from
   Iranians as too small to cover basic living expenses in a troubled
   economy.

   In the Friday edition of [1]VOA Persian's Straight Talk call-in show,
   all the callers from inside Iran criticized the government's
   announcement last month of an increase in the monthly minimum wage to
   11 million rials, equivalent to $265 at Iran's official exchange rate,
   a 19.8 percent increase from the previous minimum wage set a year ago.

   Iran adjusts its minimum wage annually to coincide with the Persian new
   year, which was March 20. Authorities said the latest increase,
   negotiated with worker and employer representatives, took into account
   Iran's inflation rate, which official bodies have said ranges from 8 to
   10 percent.

   One man who gave his name as Iman and said he lives in the central
   province of Isfahan, told Straight Talk that the 19.8 percent minimum
   wage increase was too low given the plunging value of the Iranian rial
   against the dollar, which Iranians use to price day-to-day goods. He
   was among several callers who feared the new minimum wage will leave
   workers less well off in dollar terms, even though it translates into a
   higher wage in real terms because the increase exceeds official
   inflation rates.

   Another man who identified himself as Shahram, calling from the
   southwestern province of Khuzestan, noted that some factory owners in
   Iran recently stopped paying wages to their workers because of poor
   economic conditions.

   "Now, with this increase in wages that owners have to pay their
   workers, our situation will be even bleaker," he said.

   Iranians have also complained on social media that the new minimum wage
   falls short of what many people need to survive.

   U.S. humanitarian group [2]The Borgen Project, which seeks to address
   global poverty and hunger, said last September that it believes about
   90 percent of Iran's labor force lives below the poverty line. The
   group estimated that a family of four needs about $500 a month to cover
   basic necessities.

   [3]VOA Persian's Behrooz Samadbeygi, Afshar Sigarchi and Farhad Pouladi
   contributed to this report.

   Michael covers international news for VOA on the web, radio and TV,
   specializing in the Middle East and East Asia Pacific. Follow him on
   Twitter [4]@Michael_Lipin

References

   1. https://ir.voanews.com/a/4347112.html
   2. https://borgenproject.org/causes-of-poverty-in-iran/
   3. https://ir.voanews.com/
   4. https://twitter.com/Michael_Lipin