TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Saturday Iran’s laborers community did not allow the enemy to cash in on their legitimate grievances as he called for all-out efforts to root out unemployment and improve the welfare of the working class.
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei addressed a group of Iranian workers on the occasion of Labor Week, saying Iranian laborers have some rightful objections over back wages and other issues.
“There have been a number of labor protests. As far as I know, some of these protests have been legitimate, and have been over delayed salaries, transfer of a business to another entity and other issues,” the Leader said.
“Fortunately, in all cases of protests, the workers community did not allow the ill-wishers to abuse the protests and gatherings by drawing the line against the enemy and emphasizing companionship and friendship with the government.”
The Leader said vigilance and invulnerability of workers to provocations of the enemies is as “the great jihad of the workers community.”
“Up until today, they have not been able to put the workers community against the government, and by the power of God, they will not be able to do the same from here on.”
The purpose of his annual meeting with workers, he said, is to highlight their value in society.
“Work is what keeps a society alive. Work is the backbone of people’s lives. Without work there is nothing. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the facilities we use that our lives depend on, all of these are the products of work. Who does this work? Workers. So, what is the value of a worker? The value of a worker is equal to the value of a society’s existence. They are equal to the value of people’s lives,” he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the society’s vital need for work, a worker’s need for work in order to manage their life, the spiritual need of a person for work and the completely tangible effect of work in eliminating and preventing the occurrence of all kinds of corruption demonstrate the great importance of planning, investing, and taking action to produce work and genuine employment.
The Leader cited 14,000 martyrs who belonged to the workers community.
“The most important sign of the worker community’s loyalty to the system is their intelligent manner of conduct in the past few decades. They thwarted the efforts of certain groups to cripple the establishment in the beginning of the Revolution by closing down their workshops. They also wisely stood up to the widespread propaganda of foreign ill-wishers which aimed to put the working community against the government.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said there should be a direct relationship between work and income, stressing the need to develop this culture in the society.
“From Islam’s standpoint, income should come from hard work and effort. Therefore, unearned, easy money and wealth, middlemanship, bribery, profiteering due to connection with a certain person, and usury are against the Qur’anic logic and God’s order,” the Leader explained.
According to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, not having the courage to fight against corruption in the country will take away the mettle to fight bullying of the enemies outside the country.
“For example, if an official does not have the courage to confront abusers of business or bank credits and does not confront major bank debtors, they will likewise not have the courage to confront the demands of a tyrannical government like the U.S.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said improving the workers’ livelihood and job security will in turn increase the quality of work and products, and therefore, any effort in this line is indeed an investment for more profits.
He called empowering workers a “duty” and referred to a hadith declaring that “oppressing the worker is the cause of the destruction of all good deeds and making the scent of heaven haram (forbidden) for the oppressor.”
“Oppressing the worker is not limited to not paying wages, but not taking action with regard to their insurance, health, education, initiative, skill development, family health, and job security are also oppression of workers.”