IRAN, 20 July 2017- 12 million workers are currently employed under a short-term contract in Iran.The head of the union of contract workers, Fathollah Bayat announced on Monday, July 17.
According to the state-run Mehr News, Bayat referred to the poor condition of job contracts, stating that, ‘More than 13 million insured workers are currently working and 12 million of them hold short-term job contracts.’
He also stipulated that the short-term contracts are for a maximum of 3 to 6 months and unfortunately the number of these contracts is rising.’
According to the head of the union of contract workers, about 4% of the remaining permanent workers are old employees who are on the eve of retirement.
Before the 1977 revolution, 90% of contracts were permanent but nowadays, the short-term contracts have replaced the permanent ones because the economic structure is not balanced and a rentier economy exists in Iran.
In this regard, Fathollah Bayat in the interview with Mehr News stated that the short-term contracts have increased. The labor activists’ organizations had earlier criticized the short-term contracts; stating that these contracts have endangered the honorable and peaceful lives of workers. According to the workers’ organizations, those workers employed under a short-term contract are deprived of the benefits of the labor law.
In this regard, the head of the union of contract workers stated that ‘the justification for the easy dismissal of the workforce’ is the most important factor in the increase of short-term contracts. He also stipulated that ‘In addition, the surplus of the workforce in relation to the supply has led to an increase in the number of workers because the employer can easily hire workforce by dismissing the other workers. Consequently, the workers are forced to meet the demands of employers.
Moreover, the development of excellent work, the level of productivity, and the competitive production have been reduced due to the increase of short-term contracts. The employers do not consider the human dignity or they do not motivate the workers by providing education, health, housing, and so on.’
ISNA News on March 30, 2015, reported that most of the complaints filled in the Dispute Resolution Centers are related to short-term contracts and as the labor activists stated, most workers refuse to file a lawsuit against the employer due to fear of unemployment or threats of dismissal.
At the end, ISNA News reported that according to the figures, out of 10 cases involving the dispute between the workers and employers, at least 4 cases are related to blank signed papers.
