Iranian authorities are promising a 60% increase in the minimum wage as inflation soars. What it means in real terms
Iran's Minister of Labor has announced a more than 60% increase in the minimum wage, local media reported on Sunday, a few months after the anti-government demonstrations initially sparked by the country's dire economic situation, AFP notes.
Iranians receive promises from the authorities PHOTO: EPA EFE
The country adjusts the minimum wage annually based on inflation, which exploded under the effect of international sanctions in the months leading up to the war triggered by the Israeli-American airstrikes on February 28.
According to Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing the labor minister, “with the consent of the government”the monthly minimum wage will increase from 103 million riyals to 166 million riyals in the next Persian year, which starts in a few days, writes Agerpres.
The executive also announced a similar increase in child benefits.
The Iranian currency is trading at about 1.47 million rials to the dollar, according to the Bonbast website. Basically, the increase is $43 in the case of the minimum wage.
The demonstrations were triggered last December by the high cost of living and the depreciation of the national currency.
These, however, quickly turned into a vast protest movement of an unprecedented scale, demanding the fall of the Iranian regime, in power since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Authorities have brutally cracked down on the protests, killing thousands across the country, according to rights groups.
