Female workers in Iran are toiling away without basic rights in conditions described as “new slavery”, according to the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). International Labour Day, celebrated annually on May 1, is an occasion to defend the rights of workers, but these do not exist for female (or any) workers in Iran. Many labourers have been working without pay for months or even over a year. In desperation, these poor souls have turned to high-interest loans, selling their organs, and even setting themselves on fire to escape poverty. The situation is made even worse for female workers because women are “systematically discriminated against in the law, in employment and job market, and in every other realm of life”. This makes it even harder for female workers to advocate for their rights and gain fair employment. Main problems The main problems of female workers in Iran include: • low wages: women often toil in factories for 10 to 12 hours, earning only a dollar a day, which is a third below the minimum wage and seven times below the poverty line. Those who do not have a specific employer are ripped off by intermediaries who sell their products. • inferior jobs: Iranian law gives preference in employment to men, so women are often only able to take unmonitored and unofficial workshop jobs. Women desperate to earn money to support their families are forced to take whatever job they can. • no insurance: 80% of those without insurance in Iran are women because they are more likely to be in unstable jobs where employers do not pay benefits or insurance. • lack of job security: women are the first to be laid off in economic crises because employers believe that they are less productive because of (potential) marriage and pregnancy. Two-thirds of those unemployed in Iran are women. Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a member of the presiding board of the mullahs’ parliament, said: “Oppression of women in some production units with regards to the payment of their wages and their long working hours is new slavery.” Fatemeh Pourno, Secretary of the Union of Women Workers in Qazvin, said: “Female workers work in step with men in production units, but do not receive equal wages. They are not aware of their legal rights. Therefore, they do not even find out if their insurance has been considered in their payrolls. But they do not file any complaints in this regard since they fear being fired by their employers.” source:ncr-iran

Iran, May 1, 2019 – The head of Iran’s terrorist-designated Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force warned commanders of the repressive state security forces about the explosive state of the society.

“Our enemies are trying to strike a blow and hurt us by using two tools in their disposal, the pressure of economic sanctions and undermining our security. And they would exploit everything in their capacity toward that objective,” said Qasem Soliemani said addressing a meeting of the clerical regime’s repressive state security forces in Tehran.

“Management or operation in such an environment is very sensitive and important. In fact, I should say that the state security forces have a tough responsibility and must be vigilant every moment of every hour of every day. And we should admire and support them,” Soleimani told those members of the regime’s repressive forces attending the meeting.

Criticizing a failed attempt aimed at opening a channel of dialogue with Washington by the mullahs’ foreign minister during a trip to the U.S., Soleimani labeled such an initiative as “submission” and “disgrace.”

“The enemy is trying to bring us to the negotiating table by putting more economic pressure on us. This negotiation is equal to submission. Our people are vigilant and smart and believe that negotiating with the enemy in such circumstances is tantamount to absolute surrender. We would definitely not accept that,” the Quds Force chief added.

On his recent visit to the U.S., Iranian regime Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif repeatedly attempted to establish such a channel of dialogue with the U.S. administration, using different scenarios to appeal to his counterpart, including a prisoner swap offer.

On Monday, Ali Larijani, speaker of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) said dialogue with the U.S. under the current circumstances is “negligence” and a “strategic mistake.”

“Some are neglecting and say that we must enter a dialogue. Negotiations with [U.S. President Donald Trump] is meaningless. He has put forward 12 issues that the first one is wiping out our major objective, meaning we should abandon our enrichment and nuclear program altogether. Everything has its proper timing, and the timing for dialogue is not now,” Larijani said.

source:english.mojahedin.org