Photo credit to Maryam-rajavi.com: The President-elect of the Iranian opposition, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, delivers a message on the occasion of the International Workers Day.

On Tuesday, April 30th, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), delivered a message to the Iranian people in honor of International Workers’ Day.

In her message, Mrs. Rajavi saluted the “courageous and justice-seeking workers” in Iran who continue to stand up to the regime through regular protests and strikes. She called attention to the regime’s exploitative labor practices, called for the regime to compensate workers for the damage it has done to them through the seizure of their assets and urged the Iranian people to continue to protest against the corrupt anti-labor regime.

Mrs. Rajavi said that overthrowing the corrupt regime and establishing a free Iran “will be possible through the struggle waged by you and all the arisen people of Iran in the great army of liberation; the army of the impoverished, unemployed, homeless, the displaced and flood victims.”

Labor Conditions in Iran

Mrs. Rajavi described the worsening labor conditions in Iran, noting the increase in unemployment and massive layoffs that have occurred over the past year.

She also discussed some of the regime’s anti-labor policies, saying, “The clerical regime has intensified the menacing policy of short-term labor contracts and reduction of workers’ wages in Iran, to the extent that temporary contracts have been imposed on 96% of the workers, rendering Iran’s working class as one of the lowest paid labor forces in the entire world.”

Mrs. Rajavi cited statistics from regime officials that place the inflation rate at 40% and the poverty rate at 83%. She pointed out that many workers go unpaid for months and that factory workers deduct losses due to power outages from workers’ wages.

Mrs. Rajavi stated that labor conditions hit female workers particularly hard. “Where else can we find conditions like those that are prevalent in Tehran’s brick ovens, where women and children receive almost $2 in exchange for a 17-hour shift of grueling work?” she asked.

“Even more painful is the fate of children in southern Tehran who are forced to scavenge through garbage,” said Mrs. Rajavi. “According to state-run media, the mullah-run municipality in Tehran uses these children in what has been called an act of slavery in southern districts of the capital.”

Mrs. Rajavi also discussed the devastating impact of the recent floods on Iran’s workers. She said: “In the midst of shutdowns and an extreme recession gripping manufacturing units, not to mention the extensive wave of forced unemployment, the floods of the past several weeks have dealt a devastating blow to infrastructure and facilities in the southern and western regions of the country. Once again, the primary victims were workers and toilers. The regime’s officials try to portray these disasters and ensuing damages as insignificant. But workers and farmers, and the entire impoverished population continue to feel the bitter realities deep in their skin and bones.”

Compensation for Iranian Workers

Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that Iranian farmers, workers, and all of those who have been affected by the recent catastrophic floods have the right to be compensated by the regime for the losses they have incurred due to the regime’s seizure of the assets of the Iranian people.

She demanded that the following compensation be provided to the people of Iran.

• Housing and shelter for flood victims must be provided without delay;
• all household breadwinners must be provided with unemployment insurance;
• all delayed wages must be immediately paid; and
• health insurance must be recognized as an undeniable right and provided to workers, farmers, and all toilers and their dependents.

Mrs. Rajavi expressed doubt that the regime would provide any compensation or guarantee rights for workers, but she remained confident that the people of Iran would rise victorious. She stressed that despite “the barbaric exploitation inflicted by the clerical regime that shatters the physical and psychological well-being of workers, and despite the whip of suppression striking their bodies, workers and toilers of Iran will neither rest nor surrender, and they have shown as much with their protests and uprisings over the past year.”

Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that the MEK and the Iranian Resistance is comprised of members from all sectors of society, saying, “They [Iran’s workers] can rely on the ongoing support and solidarity of women, youth, students and all the disenchanted sectors of Iranian society.

“They will unite, they will protest, strike and rise up, and they will eventually upend the prevailing instruments of oppression and suppression by overthrowing the clerical regime. On this path, one can and must overpower the regime’s intimidating policies and divisive ploys.”

Staff writer