Training and Occupation

First Topic: Job Training and Job Training Centers

1) Job Training Centers

Article 107: In implementing the Constitution’s goals and in order to employ those seeking work for the first time and giving them permanent employment and with due consideration to the need to raise the level of the workers’ technical training, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is obliged to provide the necessary resources for training.

Note: Ministries and organizations that stand to benefit shall provide the necessary educational resources with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Article 108: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, in accordance with the need and with due consideration to the type of industry established in various parts of the country, is obliged to take measures in creating and developing the following centers of labor training at various levels of expertise:

a)      Elementary training centers for training unskilled workers and job-seekers.

b)      Training centers for perfecting expertise and specialties for reviewing, increasing expertise, or teaching advanced specialties to semi-skilled and skilled workers and job-seekers and trainers for training centers.

c)      Centers for training trainers for the training of trainers in training centers.

d)      Centers for special training for the wounded and for soldiers in cooperation with the relevant ministries and organizations such as the Ministry of Health, Medicine, and Medical Training, the Martyr’s Foundation, the Soldiers’ Foundation, etc.

Article 109: The training centers mentioned in Article 108 of this law shall be administrated financially and administratively in accordance with the Law of Public Accounts independently and under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Article 110: In order to participate in the training of skilled and semi-skilled workers needed by industrial, productive, and service units, the training centers are obliged to provide the necessary cooperation to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs by creating licensed workers’ training centers in the workplace or between workplaces.

Note 1: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will provide governors with brochures for the licensed workers’ training centers in large and moderately-sized workplaces and take measures in training and securing trainers for the aforementioned centers.

Note 2: Instructions and provisions related to the creation of licensed workers’ training centers in large and moderately-sized workplaces shall be at the suggestion of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, confirmed by the cabinet.

Article 111: In addition to the formation of workers’ training centers through the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, private technical and professional training places for training in a specific industry or profession will also be founded by actual or legal individuals, licensed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Note: The bylaws relevant to determining the technical suitability of private worker training foundations and the suitability of officials and trainers, as well as the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs’ procedure for supervising these foundations, is to be drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and confirmed by the cabinet.

2)       Apprenticeship and the Apprentice’s Contract

Article 112: Within the stipulations of this law, apprentice refers to the following:

a)       Those who receive training only to learn a specific trade, to be retrained, or to upgrade their skills for a set period in apprenticeship centers or private training sites.

b)       Those who, in accordance with an apprenticeship contract, combine training with work in an occupation in a specific workplace for a period of not greater than three years and are not less than fifteen years of age and not greater than 18.

Note 1: Worker trainers of item (a) may be workers who have been introduced by the written agreement of the employer to the apprenticeship centers, or job-seekers who are not employed and have been referred to individual apprenticeship sessions.

Note 2: Instructions related to the conditions of acceptance, rights, and duties of the period of apprenticeship of job-seekers mentioned in item (b) are to be drafted by the Supreme Labor Council, confirmed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Article 113: Employed workers who are accepted as worker trainers in one of the apprenticeship centers in accordance with Note 1, Article 112 enjoy the following rights:

a)       The worker’s bonds of employment will not be severed during the apprenticeship period and it will be counted as part of the worker’s record in every way.

b)      The worker’s wage during his period of apprenticeship will not be less than the added and base wage.

c)       Non-cash benefits, aid, and bonuses which have been paid to the worker to compensate for the expenses of living and family responsibilities during the period of apprenticeship will continue to be paid.

Should the employer discontinue the apprenticeship before its period is complete and without adequate reason and the worker suffers losses thereby, the worker may appeal to the conflict resolution authorities mentioned in this law and demand compensation for damages.

Article 114: A worker who is accepted for an apprenticeship in a workplace in accordance with Note 1, Article 112 shall:

a)       Continue with his apprenticeship through the end of the period stipulated and participate systematically in the apprenticeship program and obey the provisions and bylaws of the apprenticeship unit and complete the apprenticeship program successfully.

b)      Be employed for a period of twice that of his period of apprenticeship in that same workplace after completing the period of apprenticeship.

Note: Should the apprentice not be willing to continue his work in the workplace after having completed his apprenticeship, the employer may refer to the authorities to demand compensation for damages as mentioned in the apprenticeship contract.

Article 115: The apprentices mentioned in item (b), Article 112, will be subject to the provisions concerning children mentioned in Articles 79-84 of this law, but their work hours shall not be greater than six.

Article 116: The apprenticeship contract must include the following items in addition to what both parties determined:

a)       A bilateral commitment.

b)      The apprentice’s age.

c)       The apprentice’s salary.

d)      The apprentice’s address.

e)       The profession or occupation which will be taught in accordance with the confirmed standard.

f)        The conditions under which the contract is to be dissolved.

g)       Any other sort of condition which the two parties consider necessary to be included in the contract within the limits of the provisions of the law.

Article 117: Apprenticeship paired with work for youths up to a full 18 years of age (as mentioned in Article 80 of this law) is permissible if it not exceed the bounds of their strength or damage their physical or psychological health or growth.

Article 118: Apprenticeship centers are obliged, for the training of apprentices, to give access to adequate means and equipment conforming to the standards of training of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and systematically and completely train the apprentice in the profession concerned. Similarly, the aforementioned centers must provide the apprentice with a training environment conducive to his health and safety.

Second Topic: Employment

Article 119: The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is obliged to take measures to create employment service centers throughout the country. The aforementioned service centers are obliged to take measures to sign up and introduce the unemployed to apprenticeship centers (should they need training) or to production, industrial, agricultural, or service centers which locate grounds for creating work and plan for opportunities for employment.

Note 1: Employment service centers in the provincial centers shall be obliged to create offices called Offices for Planning and Supporting the Employment of the Disabled and all the aforementioned foundations are obliged to cooperate appropriately with the aforementioned offices.

Note 2: The government is obliged to support the disabled by creating cooperative companies (in production, agriculture, industry, or distribution) and helping them by granting them long-term interest-free loans and providing the necessary training and clearing away obstacles to performing jobs and supporting their production or services and removing architectural obstacles in all centers mentioned in these articles and notes in which the disabled are referred to.

Note 3: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is obliged to draft the necessary bylaws concerning prosthetics needed by wounded employed in centers of employment through a survey of the Society of the Disabled of Iran and the country’s Health Organization, to be confirmed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Third Topic: The Employment of Foreign Nationals

Article 120: Foreign nationals may not be employed in Iran unless 1) they have an entry visa entitling them to engage in specific work and 2) they have received a work permit in accordance with the relevant laws and bylaws.

Note: The following foreign nationals are not subject to the provisions of Article 120:

a)       Foreign nationals who are exclusively employed by diplomatic or consular agencies as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

b)      Employees and experts of the UN or organizations connected with it as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

c)       Foreign journalists, reporters, and press, subject to reciprocity and as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Article 121: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs shall issue a foreign national an entry visa entitling him to perform a specific job and shall issue a work permit in conformance with the following conditions :

a)       There are no Iranian citizen job-seekers with similar education and specialization prepared to work, according to the information present in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

b)      The foreign national has the knowledge and expertise sufficient to be employed in the job in question.

c)       The foreign national be used to train Iranians and later be replaced by them.

Note: The Technical Employment Board is to decide whether the conditions included in this article have been fulfilled. The rules governing the number of members, the conditions for their selection, and the procedures by which the board’s meetings run shall be in accordance with the bylaw which shall be drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, to be confirmed by the cabinet.

Article 122: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs may take the measures concerning the issuance, extension, and renewal of individuals’ work permits for the following individuals:

a)       A foreign national who has lived in Iran for at least ten consecutive years.

b)       A foreign national married to an Iranian.

c)       Immigrants from foreign countries, especially Islamic ones, and political refugees, on the condition that they have a valid immigration or refugee card, and after obtaining the written agreement of the Ministries of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs.

Article 123: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs may, should it be necessary or as a reciprocal act, waive payment for the issuance, extension, or renewal of a work visa for foreign nationals of some countries or some stateless individuals (provided that their condition is not voluntary ) upon the confirmation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the confirmation of the cabinet.

Article 124: A work visa will be issued, extended, or renewed for a maximum duration of one year in accord with the articles of this law.

Article 125: In cases where the foreign national’s employment relations with the employer are severed for any reason, the employer is obliged to report the matter to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs within a period of fifteen days. The foreign national, for his part, is obliged to turn in his work visa to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs against a receipt within a period of fifteen days. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs can request that the appropriate authorities expel the foreign national if necessary.

Article 126: Should the country’s industries’ interests necessitate the immediate hiring of a foreign national in exceptional cases, the relevant ministry shall bring the matter to the attention of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and a temporary work visa shall be issued for the foreign national concerned subject to the agreement of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs without observing the formalities concerning issuing a visa entitling the bearer to the specified job.

Note: The temporary work permit shall be valid for at most three months. Its extension is subject to the approval of the Technical Employment Board for Foreign Nationals.

Article 127: The conditions for the employment of foreign technical experts and specialists needed by the government shall be determined with due consideration to their country of citizenship, their duration of service, their level of salary, and the domestic expert labor force after a review by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Organization of the Country’s Administrative and Employment Affairs and a declaration of their opinion, to be confirmed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Article 128: Before taking steps to close any sort of contract which would call for the employment of a foreign expert, the employer is obliged to ask the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs about the possibility of being authorized to hire a foreign national.

Article 129: The executive bylaws concerning hiring foreign nationals, including the procedure for issuing, extending, renewing, or annulling work permits, as well as the conditions for selecting members of the Technical Employment Boards for foreign nationals mentioned in Article 121 of this law, shall be drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and confirmed by the cabinet.