NCRI – Desperate workers in the Iranian city of Zanjan are being forced to return part of their salary to their bosses, or face losing their jobs.
The state-run INLA news agency said on Saturday: “Workers are caving in to their employers’ demands to hand back about 200,000 to 300,000 Tomans of their salaries in fear of being put out of work.”
Labor official Alireza Ashtian said employers pay salaries by bank deposit after ratification by the Supreme Work Council.
But in an increasing number of factories, around 700 workers in Zanjan are currently being told to hand a portion of the money back, Mr Ashtian said.
He added: “The majority of these workers are poorly-informed and needy. Some of these workers have stated that they have choice but to work under this regime because they are desperate to keep their jobs.”
A separate report from the state-run ILNA news agency on the same day has reported women workers at a hydro socket production factory are being subjected to oppression and sexual discrimination in the workplace.
The report added: “In this factory 80 of the 120 workers are women. If these women workers do not produce as much as the employer expects, they lose a significant portion of their salary.”
A labor activist told ILNA: “Every month in this factory the employer finds excuses to reduce women workers’ salaries. Often they are their family’s main wage earner and this creates many problems for them at home.”
The reports of workplace abuses comes as official figures show unemployment in soaring in Iran.
The state-run Mehr news agency on Saturday said: “The workforce survey of autumn of last Persian year shows that among various age groups, the highest unemployment rate of 28% is for youths of between 20 to 24 years old. The second highest unemployment rate of 20% is among 25 to 29-year-olds.
“In total, more than 29% of young people between the ages of 15 to 29 are unemployed. The province of Lorestan has the country’s highest youth unemployment at 59%, followed by Gilan at 54% and Ilam at 46%.
