Clergy serves
socialist minister of heavy industries,
"It is wrong to say that the Ministry of Heavy Industries is against the growth of the private sector; we welcome it." (5) He was only against of thinking that calls for turning even the oil wells over to the private sector." (6)
The Majles did not make big giveaways to the private sector. First, they opened up foreign trade. The spokesperson Trade declared, have our hand in this work have unanimously reached the conclusion that active role in trade." (7)
The premier, Hussein Mousavi, said that already over the past year the government has given 1% of imports to the cooperatives and 20% to the sector. (8) The Ministry of Agriculture even announced its willingness to "allow the private to enter fields related to fishing."
By all accounts, the private sector has improved its share of profits.
said that in the Islami, year land
(1983-1984) private traders were given more than 600 million dollars worth
DOWN WITH of foreign exchange.
USA-USSR
Giveaways to the rich
DOWN WITH
The Plan and Budget Organization
ISRAEL put the share of the private industrial sector in the same year at "3.5 billion dollars of foreign exchange for their imports." (9) Private industry's profits tomans Year were estimated at for the *280
This amounts to two thirds of the budget or thirty billion dollars at the official exchange rate. (10)
The foreign trade bill itself was couched in the strongest terms: "The government is duty bound to create favourable conditions for the private Demonstration in Tehran June 26, 1984 — the 'Day of God' (DR) sector through the providing or renting providing raw materials, public services, and other facilities." (11)
This legislation removes all limits of property that can be held. In the sections dealing with agriculture, the idea of land reform is openly abandoned. No one has the right to take over even those lands abandoned by their owners given over their rights." Even abandoned lands whose
On the other hand, the law gives its blessing to those who "decide to enter into a mozareeh contract" (i.e., the crop-sharing system of the pre-land-reform era that was abolished under the shah). This points to the revival of the ancient exploitative practices, including forcing poor 18 peasants back into unpaid labour on the lands of absentee landlords.
"reform" has gone hand in hand with a further normalisation of Mines said recently that the Iranian extending its trade relations with the except for Israel and South Africa." From Israel, in fact, Iran gets spare parts and ammunition for its war machine, it sells crude oil! (12)
The trend now is towards extending trade relations with the European imperialist countries and with Japan. Rafsanjani has already given Japanese imperialism a clean bill of health, saying that Japan "does not follow colonialist policies." (13)
Four days earlier, at the end of an interview with a New
York Times reporter, Rafsanjani said, want our relations with
America to be so bad forever. The
Americans must make the first move.
needs preparation. It is, of course, a long-term job." (14)
To do its own share in the "preparation," the Iranian regime has done
Washington a good turn by uniting all the Afghani Islamic factions that
"Etela at
October 26, 1984.
'Etela'at"
Ocbober 31, 1984.
'Etela'at"
October 31, 1984.
'Etela'at', February 19, 1985.
io. Etela at*
'Etela'at'
December 19, 1984.
, December 19,
1984.
11. 'Etela'at'
January 15, 1985.
12. 'Etela'at"
August 4, 1985.
13. 'Etela'at'.
1985.
July 3,
14. 'Etela'at", June
29, 1985. Retranslated from the Persian.
International Viewpoint 28 October 1985
attended the recent conference of the "Democratic International." Among the participants at this affair were the Nicaraguan contras and other counterrevolutionary groups from Angola, Laos, and Kampuchea. Montazeri himself, Khomeini's crown prince, reportedly helped these factions late August 1985 to agree on a "peace pact" and to try to "unite the Islamic nations."
In the area of housing, the urban land bill that was supposed to help the state buy up land for cheap public housing ran into objections from the
Council of Guardians. It was then turned into a bill legalising private Parade of Basidjis (volunteers) in the Army of Knowledge (DR) housing development projects, and reintroduced, after being amended, in
The premier had already revealed the government's plans. The private sector is going to be allowed to build the largest of housing. latest ingenious plan private house owners in the north, that is, the rich part, of Tehran to extend
The minister of housing has said, "If people thought that the state would one day give them houses, they were mistaken." (16) Later on, he also said, "Through some bad slogans, we helped spread this notion that everybody ought have a house." (17)
Less than one percent of the budget
Islamic year 1364 1985 to March 1986) is going to be spent on subsidizing necessities. 5% is alloted to health; 11% to education; 8% to the police, Imam's Committees, and the Pasdaran; and
On the other hand, the state bank's credit to the sector this year will be twice what it the last Iranian year 1363), which was already 65% more than in 1357 (March 1978 to March 1979, the period of the revolution). (18)
sector is not investing. "liquidity of the private sector
[1980-1981]. staggering total government's for 1985-1986). Therefore, the regime is constantly under the threat catastrophic price explosion.
The plan industry to "the people" announced last February is supposed to remove this danger. It is being sold to the people as a scheme for giving the workers share of industry. The antiworking-class character of this proposal is only too obvious, however.
The minister of Labour has said that "when workers feel they own the factory, there would be no sense
International Viewpoint 28 October 1985 in pressurizing proprietors for an increase in wages." (19)
Kanali, the so-called workers reprsentative in the Majles, said "Given the participation of workers in the profits and losses of industry, reduced, production increased, and tension between workers and bosses lessened." (20) as a propaganda play before passing and shoras. According to the which became law at the beginning
"initiative" electing a shora rests with the Ministry of Labour, and it can
"committee for determining and dissolving the shoras" composed of seven members - three from the three from the bosses, and one from the Ministry of Labour.
These shoras are to represent both and the employees. Velayat-e-Faghih [the absolute authorof the chief religious leader] and be confirmed by a committee including two representatives of the government.
This law reduces the role of the shoras to a consultative have no right to interfere with management, they are not allowed to decide anything, only to concern them-
"legal and social welfare" of the workers.
Such shoras can have a nonvoting representative management any business secrets of the firm." They must also help the authorities
"accidents" in the area "social problems" (that is, they must mutilated shoras can be elected only in large production units, if and when the "High Council of Labour" (made up of five ministers, two managers, and two workers) deeides. This law explicity gives the rights of hiring and firing to the management. Even members of the shoras themselves can be sacked,
"Labour Courts,"
they may not attend shora meetings.
A few weeks after this bill was passed, the High Council of Labour after five years, to tomans a day, to 72 tomans. During have increased at least 20% a year on
Moreover, even the belated increase in the minimum wage is not going to be paid across the board. Its payment is to be tied to implementation of the proposed labour codes. These were kept secret until they were passed by the Majles in June, although they were put before parliament in April.
encountered violent opposition from the workers that the government was forced to retreat. The second amended version of winter 1984 was also dropped for the same reasons. The third version is now law, and is just as bad as the previous ones.
The new law rejects all the basic demands raised by the vast majority of the workers - the right to a job, job security, no wage structure, guarantees of and the right to strike.
For the public service sector (food distribution, gas, water, post and telephone, public transport, oil, ete.), Article 186 of the new code bans all strikes for whatever reasons.
The official workweek extended from 44 to 48 hours (Article 66), with only forty minutes a day
(including prayers). There will be only 18 days holidays a year. to Article 155, no collective bargaining can be entered into without the permission of the Ministry of Labour.
The minimum has been set at 15. In reality, it is 12, because under the cover of "on the job training," employing 12 year
15. 'Etela'at', April 23, 1985
16. 'Etela 'at' November 26, 1985.
17. 'Etela'at,January 20, 1985.
19. Etela'at, 18. 'Etela'at' February 28, 1985. February 2, 1985.
20. Keyhan, February 27, 1985.
19