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 TEHRAN, Oct 12, 2006 (AFP) - About 200,000 Iranian workers have not
received their salaries for months, the head of the official labour union
was quoted as saying in the press on Thursday.
"Close to 200,000 workers in 500 factories have not received any
salary for months," said Alireza Mahjoub, the secretary general of Iran's
House of Labour.
"Some of these workers have been waiting for their wages for about 50 months,"
said Mahjoub, who is also a member of parliament.
"The parliament should consider the delayed payments in the (upcoming)
additional budget bill," he said.
According to Mahjoub, some 18.5 percent of Iran's 70
million population live under the poverty line.
The Tehran MP also expressed concern over the high inflation rate during
the past few months, describing the rising prices as the "the root of
the current economic problems."
In the past few weeks, Iranian officials have denied inflation is rising,
putting the rate at about 10 percent, even though staple items have become
more expensive in markets and unofficial sources estimate the figure to
have reached at least 20 percent.
However, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
reacted to the criticism by putting the blame on "national and
non-national media" for rising consumer prices.
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