{"id":216941,"date":"2020-04-22T17:04:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T16:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=216941"},"modified":"2023-02-01T05:50:15","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T04:50:15","slug":"irans-regime-is-plundering-workers-and-retirees-property-amid-coronavirus-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/irans-regime-is-plundering-workers-and-retirees-property-amid-coronavirus-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Regime Is Plundering Workers ‘and Retirees’ Property Amid Coronavirus Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iran\u2019s
Iran: Tehran, “Shasta” Building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The state-run website “<\/span>Nabzebourse<\/span>” predicted on April 13, that the shares of the Social Security Investment Company (Shasta)\u202f<\/span>would be listed<\/span><\/a>\u202fon the Tehran Stock Exchange<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on April 15<\/span>. This is the largest initial public offering in the history of the Tehran Stock Exchange, which\u00a0<\/span>was carried out<\/span>\u00a0with a 10% supply of Shasta shares.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shasta is a holding company, a conglomerate of eight different industrial-financial groups\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0manages 187 different companies in the\u00a0<\/span>sectors\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>oil, gas<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and petrochemical<\/span>s<\/span>, medicine, cement and ceramic tiles,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>electricity and energy. Shasta also has\u00a0<\/span>companies related to<\/span>\u00a0banking and insurance, land and sea transport, agriculture, and food. The company also has an unmanaged presence in 100 other industrial, manufacturing and service units.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before<\/span>\u00a0the offering of shares, Mohammad\u00a0<\/span>Shariatmadari<\/span>, the regime’s Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare,\u00a0<\/span>had\u00a0<\/span>announced the transfer<\/span><\/a>\u202f(<\/span>ISNA<\/span>\u00a0state-run News Agency, April 14, 2020).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be reminded that Shasta is owne<\/span>d by workers and retirees<\/span>, but i<\/span>ts CEO and board of directors are appointed by the Minister of Cooperative<\/span>s<\/span>, Labor and Social Welfare. In other word<\/span>s<\/span>, the real owners do not have any managing\u00a0<\/span>role<\/span>. Shasta is not a government company but is public property.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier, regime officials in social security had said that the organization had a deficit of about 25,000 billion\u00a0<\/span>tomans<\/span>\u00a0and about 39,000 billion\u00a0<\/span>tomans<\/span>\u00a0in bank debt. At the same time,\u00a0<\/span>Rouhani’s<\/span>\u00a0government owes more than 250,000 billion\u00a0<\/span>tomans<\/span>\u00a0to this organization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But instead<\/span>\u00a0of paying off its debt to the Social Security Administration, the government is selling its shares. It seems that the reason for the bankruptcy of some pension funds is the government’s debt to them. In other words, during the two terms of\u00a0<\/span>Rouhani’s<\/span>\u00a0government and\u00a0<\/span>Mahmoud<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Ahmadinejad’s<\/span>\u00a0government, they emptied the pockets of workers and retirees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even\u00a0<\/span>if\u00a0<\/span>Rouhani\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0government intends to hand this conglomerate over<\/span>,\u00a0 the<\/span>\u00a0shares of this organization must be given to the workers and retirees for free<\/span>. Otherwise, as in<\/span>\u00a0many other cases, it will be granted not to an independent private sector, but the regime officials\u2019\u00a0<\/span>relatives<\/span>\u00a0inner circle.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The question is<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0why should a company owned by workers be re-assigned to a close circle of government officials during the so-called privatization\u00a0<\/span>process?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At a time when income disparities and economic inequalities in society have risen sharply, who can buy Shasta shares? No group other than a group of regime-affiliated looters can own these shares. In other words, workers’ shares\u00a0<\/span>are handed over<\/span>\u00a0to the regime\u2019s affiliated looters with the deceptive tool of “privatization”<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Workers and retirees, who should generally benefit from Shasta, are not only unable to buy stocks, but are unable to meet their basic living standards.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The privatization of companies in the mullahs’ regime has been going on for years and has always been one of the most controversial economic issues in the country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Many profitable companies have gone bankrupt during this process and this has led to the unemployment of thousands of workers. Dozens of companies and factories have refused to pay workers’ wages after privatization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A clear example of this is\u202f<\/span>Haft\u00a0<\/span>Tappeh<\/span><\/a>\u202fSugarcane factory in Khuzestan Province and \u202f<\/a><\/span>Hepco<\/span>\u202f Company in <\/span>Arak<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Factories that were very active and\u00a0successful, but\u00a0<\/span>went bankrupt\u00a0<\/span>after the transfer of their shares.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

#Iran<\/a>\u2019s Azarab Factory Workers Fall Victim to Regime Corruption.The question is,why has a huge factory,which is responsible 4supporting country\u2019s industry,suddenly fallen in such a predicament whereby it is incapable of paying its workers\u2019wages?https:\/\/t.co\/mY1WcVdurm<\/a>#FreeIran<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n