HRANA – May 1st marks International Workers’ Day, offering another opportunity to reflect on the condition of the country’s labor community and their numerous challenges, particularly regarding wages and salaries, unpaid wages, workplace safety, and the right to form labor unions.

According to a report by HRA’s Statistics and Documents Center, based on a review of labor-related reports published over the past 12 months (from May 1, 2025 to April 28, 2026), at least 5,019 workers were reported injured or killed in workplace incidents during this period by media outlets or organizations active in this field.

At least 586 workers lost their lives in workplace incidents during this period. Authorities and relevant institutions reported 284 deaths in 10 official reports, while independent organizations collected and updated 302 additional cases of worker fatalities that had not been mentioned in official statements.

At least 4,433 workers were also injured in workplace accidents. In 9 official reports or statements at national and provincial levels, authorities announced that 3,846 individuals had been injured. In addition, 587 other cases were documented and reported by civil or labor organizations.

Despite the significance of these figures, it should be noted that, due to the lack of transparency in reporting by responsible institutions and officials, the majority of workplace incidents go unreported in the media.

Most workers in Iran operate under conditions lacking job security and adequate insurance coverage. A shortage of inspectors and weak safety infrastructure have created serious challenges in the registration and prevention of occupational accidents.

As shown in the chart below, based on the data collected by HRA’s Statistics And Documents Center, the causes of these incidents are distributed as follows: 20.28% construction-related accidents, 15.91% falls from height, 15.21% struck by hard objects, 11.89% fires, 7.69% mining incidents, 7.17% traffic accidents, 5.94% electrocutions, 3.32% explosions, 2.97% gas poisoning, 2.45% accidents in wells, 2.27% in factories, 2.10% poisoning, 1.05% drowning, 0.52% heatstroke, 0.52% smoke inhalation, 0.52% in petrochemical and refinery sectors, and 0.17% agricultural accidents.

Workplace Accident Categorization Chart

According to data compiled by HRA’s Statistics and Documents Center, at least 613 months of unpaid wages have been recorded across 119 industrial and service units.

Breakdown of Wage Arrears by Sectors

Based on reports collected by this organization’s statistics department, 51% of wage arrears are related to government entities, 25% to private sector organizations, 13% to the energy sector, and 11% remain unspecified.

Estimates indicate a high level of protest activity within the labor community; however, over the past year, only a portion of these protests, specifically 682 labor gatherings and 691 guild-related gatherings, have been reported by media outlets or civil society organizations. Compared to the previous year, guild-related gatherings decreased by 39.6%, while labor gatherings declined by 7.5%.

Among the most significant events in Iran over the past year were protests by workers of the Middle East Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company, the Karkheh Mianab Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company, railway technical and infrastructure workers, the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group, the Qalat Ghareh Oil Company, as well as guild-related protests by teachers, retirees, and Social Security pensioners.

Over the past 12 months, various cities across Iran have witnessed diverse forms of protest actions by workers. A wide range of workers have taken to the streets due to non-payment of their monthly wages and the neglect of their insurance-related demands. Some of these workers have gone on strike and protested after going as long as 30 months without receiving their pay. In total, 383 labor strikes and 39 guild-related strikes took place. Labor strikes decreased by 72.1%, while guild-related strikes declined by 43.4%.

Workers’ ability to organize in Iran to pursue their demands faces legal challenges and state repression. Repression, obstruction, and the refusal to recognize the rights of trade unions and independent labor organizations, along with the imprisonment and issuance of prison sentences for several labor activists, as well as restrictions on the right to protest, have contributed to the fragmentation and disorganization of some labor gatherings and protests.

In Iran, labor organizations do not exist in the conventional global sense, and independent groups such as the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate, the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Union Organizations, and the Free Union of Iranian Workers face security and political charges.

Many workers have been arrested or sentenced on charges such as organizing peaceful gatherings and protesting low wages. Over the past 12 months, at least 10 workers and labor activists have been arrested. Among the most notable cases are the arrests of several workers from the Isfahan Steel Company and five workers from the Middle East Sugar Factory in Shush.

It is also worth noting that Sharifeh Mohammadi and Mehran Raouf are among the prominent labor activists currently imprisoned, alongside union activists such as Asghar Amirzadegan, Ahmad Alizadeh, and Mohammad Hassan Davoudi.

In addition, one can point to the sentencing of two labor activists to a total of 75 months of discretionary imprisonment and fines amounting to 30 million tomans, two cases of self-immolation, the trial of two individuals, the summoning of nine individuals to judicial and security authorities, the closure of 10 factories, 2,922 cases of dismissal and workforce reduction, 114,954 cases of unemployment, 839,953 instances of workers lacking insurance coverage, and 3,806 cases of employment uncertainty.

Furthermore, in the area of unions and union/guild activities, a total of 40 arrests of union activists, 317 months of discretionary imprisonment and 3 months of suspended sentences, 24 cases of deprivation of social rights, 148 lashes, fines totaling 359.1 million tomans, and 120 months of internal exile for 67 union activists were reported. Additionally, there was 1 case of travel ban, 16 trials in judicial authorities, 43 summonses to judicial-security bodies, 195 cases of business closures (sealings), 18 cases of dismissal and workforce reduction, at least 105 months of unpaid wages, 407 cases of forced retirement, 8 house searches, 4 sentence enforcements, 2 cases of physical assault, and 1 case of self-immolation.

Over the past year, teachers and education sector workers, both active and retired, across various cities and provinces in the country staged protest gatherings and strikes in response to the failure to address their demands. In total, 40 gatherings were recorded. Over the past year, 32 cases of arrest, 37 summonses, 16 trials in judicial authorities, 4 instances of sentence enforcement, 18 cases of dismissal, workforce reduction, and bans from teaching, as well as 7 cases of forced retirement among teachers, were documented.

Additionally, 64 teachers and activists in this field were sentenced to a total of 269 months of discretionary imprisonment and 3 months of suspended sentences, 74 lashes, 23 cases of deprivation of social rights, and fines amounting to 359.1 million tomans.

The head of the National Association of Union Organizations of Construction Workers reported a worsening state of uncertainty and deteriorating living conditions for this group due to wartime circumstances. Akbar Shokat stated: “The most important issue for construction workers is employment. Many of them work on a daily wage basis and rely on just a few days of work per week to cover their living expenses. However, under current conditions, even these limited opportunities have declined, and their livelihoods are facing serious challenges. Wartime conditions have led to the closure of many workshops, and rising prices—especially in the steel sector—have further reduced employment in this field.”

A workers’ representative in the Supreme Labor Council announced that the cost of a basic livelihood basket for a worker’s household this year has reached approximately 40 to 45 million tomans per month, while the minimum income of workers is around 15 million tomans. This highlights a significant gap between income and living expenses. According to Mohammadreza Tajik, to bridge this gap, the minimum wage would need to increase by 17 million tomans to reach around 31 million tomans. Even with a 100% wage increase, workers’ livelihood problems would not be fully resolved, and wage-setting should be based on preserving purchasing power rather than merely percentage increases.

The executive secretary of the Workers’ House in Rey, referring to the sharp rise in healthcare costs and deficiencies in the supplementary insurance of the Social Security Organization, stated that in recent months, increasing imposed and unlawful medical expenses have become a problem worse than the illness itself for many retirees and workers. Mohammadali Torkashvand added that the ability to pay for medical expenses has become impossible for many. He further noted that the “Obligation Plan” of the Social Security Organization, one of its core responsibilities, has not been properly implemented for years. If properly enforced, there would be no need for supplementary insurance, and many healthcare-related problems of retirees would be resolved.

The executive secretary of the Workers’ House in Qazvin stated that today, workers remain hungry despite working double shifts. Wages are not aligned with current inflation, and with daily price changes, 70 to 80 percent of workers’ income is spent on food. Eydali Karimi added that housing allowance is only 900,000 tomans, while in many cases, an entire worker’s salary is spent on rent. Workers and retirees are also under severe pressure from medical costs, with even a simple surgery now costing over 100 million tomans.

Ali Moghaddasi-Zadeh, head of the Coordinating Council of Islamic Labor Councils of South Khorasan, stated that in mining cities such as Tabas and Eastern Alborz, there are still no Social Security hospitals. According to him, this has forced mine workers, who earn very low wages, to bear heavy medical costs in public and private hospitals in the event of accidents. Moghaddasi-Zadeh identified the main cause of this situation as the “existing Social Security law,” explaining: “According to current regulations, a dedicated hospital will not be built until the number of insurance booklets reaches 100,000, whereas in Tabas alone, at least 11,000 workers and their families require insurance services.” He emphasized that this law must be revised so that workers can access Social Security healthcare services in their place of residence.

The prohibition of child labor and the provision of free education for children, the establishment of the highest safety standards in work environments, and the removal of discriminatory laws against women and migrant workers are among the key demands of the labor community.

Despite being described as the cheapest labor force in the country, Iranian women workers face worse employment conditions than men and receive fewer legal protections, rights, and benefits.

At the same time, women workers have less bargaining power compared to their male counterparts. Moreover, production and industrial units show less willingness to hire married women, and in some cases employ single women under commitments not to marry or become pregnant.

The situation of women workers in small workshops is significantly worse. Women make up half of the workforce in brick kilns, where they work under extremely harsh conditions.

In Iran, International Workers’ Day arrives at a time when the privatization of factories and state-owned companies continues without regard for the long-term interests of workers, a trend that has led to widespread labor protests.