50% of Iranian workers become unemployed after outbreaks of coronavirus
“Before the start of the New Year among Iranians, at least 50% of seasonal and service workers in Iranian provinces worst hit by Iran’s coronavirus outbreaks have been laid off or have become unemployed,” Labor activists in an interview with ILNA told.
The Head of Qom Association of Construction Workers Akbar Shokat said that more than 50-60% of construction workers in the province of Qom have become unemployed.
During coronavirus pandemic, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections on 19 February 2020 in Qom. Since the COVID-19 outbreak which has led to widespread recession and closure of factories, the effects of this job instability has severely increased, because of most of Iranian workers don’t have unemployment insurance and do not even make minimum wage.
The member of the Board of Directors of Iran’s Supreme Association of Construction Workers added in an exclusive interview with ILNA news agency that the Iranian government should give workers packages containing food and sanitary items to aid them during the crisis.
Shokat said that 50% of service workers had also become unemployed in Qom and other provinces worst hit by the COVID-19 outbreak due to the widespread closure of restaurants and other businesses.
According to reports, construction workers in other provinces have also been laid off due to the recession in the construction industry last winter. And also, service workers in restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, and recreational facilities, who are mostly contract workers, have also become unemployed.
Iranian Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoosh Jahanpoor said 9,625 people out of a total of 27,017 infected by the coronavirus have survived the deadly disease while 2,077 have lost their lives to it.
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