NCRI – The Greater Tehran Bus Company has obligated its employees at the passenger control section to provide credible references and a $2,000 promissory note as conditions to continue their employment. The Bus Company has given the 90 employees working in shuttle routes up to 2 weeks to fulfill these conditions. Those unable to do so will be fired.
The average age of the affected work force is roughly 18 to 25 years old. Most are from low-income families and cannot fulfill the said obligation. They started work almost 2 months ago through placement agencies.
According to Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran, this group of employees has yet to receive paychecks since their start date.
Akbar Pirhadi, a member of the Bus Company union, has said that he has not heard about the reports regarding the new conditions, but indicated that there have been advertisements offering workers advance pay to leave the company.
“For several months now, there have been offers posted on the company’s bulletin boards about paying employees to leave. They have said that anyone with any degree of experience can leave the company in exchange for receiving four and a half months of pay.”
According to Pirhadi, this would translate to $8,000 to $10,000 for someone with five years of experience, an amount insufficient to support the unemployed.
“This is not a logical solution,” he said, adding, “We have told our friends who have consulted with us that we do not agree with this measure. The advance pay will be spent in a few months on their families and debts, and in the end these people will remain unemployed and without an income to support themselves.”
