Promise of a 20% salary increase in the face of a 35% increase in food prices

A number of Rouhani government officials have spoken of a 20 percent increase in the salaries of workers, employees, and retirees. This is despite the fact that inflation has reduced people's purchasing power and increased the poverty line by 25 percent in 2018.

In its report, “Tojarat News” has referred to the calculation of the “Research Arm of the Parliament” regarding the poverty line in Iran. According to the calculation of the “Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly”, the poverty line has increased by over 25 percent in the summer of this year compared to the same period last year.

The same report assessed the government's policy in supporting families with incomes below three and a half million tomans as ineffective.

On Monday, December 10, the "Tojarat News" website reported a 25 percent increase in the poverty line in Iran in its report on the effects of inflation and high prices on people's purchasing power.

The Parliamentary Research Center has estimated the absolute poverty line for the first six months of 2018. Based on this calculation, the poverty line differs in different provinces and also in rural areas, and therefore, support for poor families cannot be based on a single policy.

Poverty line increases in Tehran

The parliament's calculations indicate a "very significant jump" in the absolute poverty line in the summer of 2018 compared to the spring of the same year. In other words, the poverty line in Tehran increased by 300,000 tomans for a family of four in the summer of 2018 alone compared to the spring of 2018.

According to the calculations of this research center, the poverty line for a family of four in Tehran in the summer of this year was equivalent to two million, 728,000 Tomans.

The same assessment has reported a significant increase in the number of families living below the poverty line compared to previous years.

Although the level of expenses in other cities and rural areas is lower than in Tehran, a decrease in people's purchasing power and the fall of more families below the poverty line are observed across the country.

Calculating the absolute poverty line in provinces, cities, and rural areas indicates a 25% increase in the poverty line across the country.

Promise of a salary increase

In another report, the "Tojarat News" website mentioned the promise of some government officials regarding a 20 percent increase in the salaries of workers, employees, and retirees.

The news of the 20 percent salary increase was published by the “Islamic Republic” newspaper, citing “a number of executive officials.” The Kayhan newspaper warned these officials about this, writing:

"It is clear that these people make such promises with good intentions and with the aim of reducing the mental suffering of the people who are under pressure from inflation, but unfortunately, they are either oblivious to the consequences and effects of these promises or they are neglecting themselves. In both cases, these officials should be warned not to make mistakes again and not make the country's economic conditions more critical."

The author of the aforementioned report further wrote: "The inflation rate caused by currency fluctuations this year is much higher than 20 percent. Given this reality, how do the authorities intend to solve the problem of people's livelihood with this 20 percent increase?"

The report states that a 20% increase in salaries would bankrupt many factories and institutions that cannot afford to pay this level of salary.

It should be noted that, based on calculations made by "Economic World", the prices of many basic goods, including groceries, have increased by more than 35 percent in recent months.

Source: DW