Inside Iran’s Labor-Brokerage Reform

The plan to eliminate or restrict contractor and intermediary firms was announced as a promise to end one of the most grinding mechanisms of labor exploitation, a structure that has for years kept large parts of the workforce suspended between real work and rightlessness. For millions of company-employed, contract, and project-based workers, “contracting” has never […]
Work, Unemployment, and Insurance in Iran Under the Shadow of War and Inflation

Reports published in recent days, despite heavy media restrictions, censorship, self-censorship, and the removal of a large part of the reality on the ground, show a clear picture of a deep crisis in Iran’s labor market: falling purchasing power, suspension and dismissal of workers, unpaid wages, delayed or suspended insurance payments, unstable contracts, pressure on […]

Abolishing Contractors: A Workers’ Demand, Not a Government Gift

In recent days, reports have circulated about new orders related to the abolition of intermediary and contracting companies. Under the current model, a large section of the workforce is employed through indirect contracts and via contracting companies. In this structure, the employment relationship between the worker and the main institution is mediated through one or…
The 2026 Minimum Wage: Playing With Workers’ Livelihoods Amid Crisis and War

At the beginning of the Iranian year 1405, one of the country’s most important economic and social issues was the setting and announcement of the minimum wage for workers. This wage is not simply a number in official tables. It forms the material basis of life for millions of workers and their families. Yet the…