TEHRAN, May 31--Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mohammad Jahromi here on Wednesday defended the ministry’s controversial decision to increase wages, stressing that many workers in even the country’s remote regions cannot subsist on the ’minimum salary’, which is far less than $200 a month.
According to Fars news agency, the minister further said that labor issues are very complex, adding that labor-related policies have an impact on political and social issues as well as the job market and education.
“Some 16 years have elapsed since the ratification of the current Labor Laws and the country is still facing severe challenges and shortcomings (regarding working class affairs),“ he said, adding that salaries are too low and do not suffice for leading a humble life in remote areas, where costs are much lower then those in the capital Tehran.
“The avalanche of unemployment will crush us if we do not step up efforts to fight it,“ he said, adding that youths constitute some 60 percent of the population, whereas unemployment rate among the 20-29 age group has reached 26.6 percent.
“The avalanche is too strong,“ he said, adding that once it is triggered, it will affect the whole of economy and population.
He did not explain how the ministry is going to stop the avalanche by increasing wages.
Employers are faced with the dilemma of not increasing prices of their products under the parliamentary Fixed Price Law and a great increase in labor costs.
Hassan Sadeqi, who represents the labor community in the State High Social Security Council, told reporters earlier that job security has been jeopardized through selective and inexpert approaches.
Qassem Azizi, a member of the Majlis Economic Commission, also said that some 12 percent of those currently employed are expected to lose their jobs by next March following the decision.
This is while Ebrahim Nazari Jalali, deputy labor minister, said the ministry is studying the ’impacts of recent wage increases’ on the job market and that if studies conclude that the initiative has had a positive impact on the working population, it will be extended.
Employers claim that wages have gone up by 60 percent, which they cannot afford.

The government is required to supply raw materials to steel mills instead of importing huge amounts of this strategic product.

TEHRAN, May 31--There is no ban on steel exports, said a senior steel industry official on Wednesday, denying reports that the government has prevented export of 200,000 tons of steel products from Khuzestan Steel Company.
Abbas Verdinejad, the company’s managing director, told Fars news agency that as per Article 33 of the Fourth Five-Year Plan (2005-2010) Law, no restrictions can be placed on export of processed goods.
The official further noted that the company has produced 500,000 tons of steel since late March, of which 100,000 tons have been exported.
“We mainly produced ingots and slabs since March,“ he said, adding that the country needs 16.7 million tons of steel ingots a year, most of which are imported.
“Some have got used to imports,“ he said, adding that these people always complain about why products must be exported.
He said exports have got a new lease on life, whereas some prefer to have the country continue as an importer.
“If we make profit by exporting steel products, we will either use it to invest in production or deposit it with State Treasury,“ he said.
Domestic steel production has faced numerous ups and downs over the past few years as private steel companies continue to grapple with inadequate supplies of raw materials and poor financial conditions.
In spite of this, some 2.5 million tons of the strategic product was exported to 40 countries in the year to March 2006.
Mohammad Reza Torabi, a member of Association of Steel Exporters and Producers, said earlier that steel imports also reached seven million tons in the period, when domestic production amounted to 10 million tons.
He lambasted what he called was the ’overnight decision’ to cut steel import tariffs to zero, stressing that the decision will only worsen unemployment.
Many experts believe the industry is in bad shape.
“If the current situation continues, we will have an industry which is totally destroyed,“ said Rassoul Khalifeh-Soltan, secretary of Steel Producers Association. “The government is required to supply raw materials to steel mills instead of importing huge amounts of this strategic product.“

TOKYO, May 31--Japan is curbing crude oil imports from Iran, its third-largest supplier, out of concern that the standoff over the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear program will increase the risk of supply disruptions, according to Bloomberg.
Imports from Iran tumbled 20 percent to 2.18 million kiloliters (37,614 barrels a day) last month, bringing the decline to 14 percent for the four months which ended April 30, according to Trade Ministry data. Japan brought in more oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said in a report released in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan seeks to lessen the impact of any upset to supplies because it’s dependent on imports for almost all the oil it needs to fuel the world’s second-largest economy.
Japan, the largest oil user after the US and China, imported 13.8 percent of its oil from Iran in 2005. The Islamic Republic holds the world’s second-largest oil and gas reserves.
Nippon Oil Corp., Japan’s biggest petroleum refiner, will cut oil imports from Iran this year by 15 percent, Chairman Fumiaki Watari said on March 15. The Tokyo-based company plans to reduce imports to 120,000 barrels a day, from 142,000 barrels a day last year, he said.
Oil imports from Saudi Arabia jumped 15 percent to 26.6 million kiloliters in the January to April period. From the UAE, imports rose 11 percent to 21.3 million kiloliters, according to the Trade Ministry.

TEHRAN, May 31--A senior lawmaker said here on Wednesday that the Parliament has called on the giant carmaker Saipa to improve the quality of its products and reduce their prices.
Seyyed Hossein Hashemi, who heads Majlis Industries and Mines Commission, told Fars news agency that the commissioners, in a recent meting with the senior Saipa authorities, called for higher quality and lower prices, stressing that the lawmakers were critical of the inferior quality of the Saipa Pride budget sedans.
“Many deputies believe that the quality of the company’s products needs to receive greater attention,“ he said, adding, however, that the company has managed to provide the MPs a ’favorable report’ and on its finances and stock market status.
He said the MPs have asked Saipa to make use of quality auto parts.
Iran’s second largest carmaker Saipa announced recently that it is planning to increase production by almost 35 percent and could manufacture 580,000 units of different models by March 2007.
Ahmad Qalebani, the company’s managing director, said some 440,000 cars as well as 140,000 units of 4WD vehicles, vans and trucks will be manufactured in the new fiscal year (beginning March).
The company plans to produce five new vehicles in the year to March 2007. It produced 440,000 units in the year to March 2006, when its share of the growing domestic auto market jumped to 45 percent.
“We supplied some 50 percent of demand for 4WDs in the closing months of the year to March 2006,“ he said, adding that the company is now eying a 51-percent share in the lucrative market.
He said Saipa is planning to become the number one choice of Iranian car owners, and the increase in demand for the company’s main products, namely Kia’s Pride and Rio and Citroen’s Xantia is indicative of the company’s improving quality and efficiency.

TEHRAN, May 31--Giant carmaker Iran Khodro will unveil the latest model of the popular Samand by next March, said the company’s vice chairman, stressing that the Samand P2 is just one of several new cars the company is planning to manufacture.
Mohammad Javad Dehnadi told ILNA that the company is determined to improve the quality of its products in the year to March 2007, adding that the P2 production process is going on according to schedule.
He rejected reports that domestic production of Renault Megane would damage the present lucrative market for Samand and Peugeot Pars, two of the company’s main products. Dehnadi said prices will certainly remain stable. He did not elaborate.
He further noted that the company is involved in talks with France’s Peugeot on several new joint ventures.
The Middle East’s largest auto manufacturer announced in February that it will unveil the new Samand by late March.
Samand project manager, Qassem Kaheh, had told reporters that the new Samand has undergone certain changes in appearance and technical features.
The new model, he pointed out, has greater handling capabilities given its improved suspension system.
The front parts as well as the interior design have changed. The new model enjoys greater safety and will be powered by the national engine as of 2007.
The latest braking system has been used in the new Samand, which also has more comfortable doors and less noise.
These changes were made after the company polled customers and specialists, he said, adding that 127 parts of the car have either been changed or improved.
The new model conforms to the latest European standards, namely those of Renault and Peugeot, he said. He added that the new model is equipped with Antilock Brake System (ABS).
Some 130,000 Samand sedans will be produced in the year to March 2007, when 30,000 units will be exported.
Experts say Samand is a safe car with an anti-theft system that has made it the safest car second only to Peugeot 206 among domestically made cars in Iran.

TEHRAN, May 31--Iran announced Tuesday afternoon it will produce six million mobile phone handsets by next March just a few days after it increased handset import tariffs by 56 percent.
According to Fars news agency, Alireza Tahmasbi, minister of industries and mines, said at the ceremony to sign memoranda of understanding (MoU) with two companies and a domestic consortium that domestically-produced handsets will hit the market by March.
“Iran Telecoms Factory, Nime-Hadi Emad Company and the Consortium of Soroush Resaneh Institute and Smart Townships Company have signed three memoranda of understanding (with the ministry), each pledging to produce two million handsets by March,“ he added.
The official further noted that semi knockdown (SKD) production in the first phase will give way to domestic production of handsets some two months after launching the project.
“Henceforth, smuggling of handsets will also cease,“ he said, adding that only domestically-produced handsets will be made available on the demanding market.
He said handset market has turned into a $1-billion-a-year business for importers, stressing that some 50,000 jobs could be created with this amount.
The minister said some major mobile phone importers have threatened to close their offices in Iran and to refuse after-sale services, adding that the country will need one billion dollars worth of new handsets thanks to plans for selling 8-10 million new SIM cards this year.
A senior industrial official said this week that the government’s decision to increase tariffs on imported mobile phone handsets from four to 60 percent will benefit domestic industries and will help attract domestic and foreign investments in the field.
Mohsen Shaterzadeh, deputy minister of industries and mines, said the importers, who have objected to the decision, are in fact worried about their own financial interests.
On May 28, Article One Commission of the government approved the surprise 60-percent import tariff on mobile phone imports defying calls by handset sellers not to agree to the move which has already disrupted the market.
Mobile phone industry is booming in Iran where 11 million text messages are sent each day. There are some 8.5 million mobile phone subscribers in the country.

TEHRAN, May 31--Amendments to the Direct Tax Law must precede the implementation of the law on combating money-laundering, said an expert here on Wednesday.
Mansour Shams-Ahmadi, a senior accountant, told Moj news agency that issues pertaining to direct taxes, most notably income tax, need to be rectified, if the law on fighting money-laundering is to be enforced properly.
“One of the ways to fight money laundering is to keep track of sources of money through income tax reports,“ he said, adding that as long as the income tax related laws are lacking, it will be difficult to implement the law on fighting money-laundering.
He said many people would be unwilling to disclose the sources of their wealth and pay tax accordingly, adding that the money laundering law will never be enforced as long as it remains on paper.
“Legal action must be taken against those who produce false income tax reports,“ he said.
Money laundering campaign is yet to get a move on as the Parliament and the constitutional supervisory body, Guardians Council (GC), remain at loggerhead on the legislation.
Earlier this month, the parliamentarians decided not to make repeated revisions to the controversial bill on fighting money laundering after the bill was rejected for a second time by the GC.
The issue will now be referred to the arbitrating body, State Expediency Council, for a final decision.
The Guardians have this time rejected the bill on grounds that it has called for judicial interaction with other countries and that it has delegated the task to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and not the judiciary.
The Guardians contend that judicial interaction with other countries on the campaign against money laundering remains unlikely as the conformity of their judicial laws to the Islamic Law is unclear.
The lawmakers have reportedly failed to convince the Guardians Council.
Experts say the bill on fighting money laundering, once it becomes a law, will help bring transparency to capital and monetary markets and regulate the capital accumulation systems.

TEHRAN, May 31--The oil minister said here Wednesday that Venezuela’s proposal on sale of oil in euro would not be on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), reported IRNA.
“Iran had earlier raised the issue. It will sell crude oil in a hard currency needed by Central Bank of Iran,“ Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said.
On decisions which OPEC members would make during their 141st session on oil production ceiling, he added he did not think any special decision would be made because none of OPEC members except Venezuela was seriously following up the case.
“I do not think there will be any increase or decrease in the organization’s production ceiling with respect to prices of OPEC basket which currently stand at over $65 per barrel,“ he said.
Vaziri-Hamaneh, who chairs the session of a ministerial committee supervising OPEC market, added, “The committee is responsible for analyzing the (oil) market and supervising production of OPEC members during the period from previous session to the next one.“
The 141st extraordinary session of OPEC will open in Caracas on Thursday with an inaugural speech by President Hugo Chavez.