A member of the board of directors of the Supreme Council of Construction Workers’ Trade Associations across the country said that the insurance coverage of 500,000 construction workers has been cut over the past five years, and that hundreds of thousands of others have remained waiting in line.

Akbar Shokat said in an interview with ILNA that the number of insured construction workers in the country has now dropped to fewer than 500,000.

He also reported a worsening slump in the construction industry due to the war, noting that “this year and last year, wartime conditions have affected the state of construction,” and that construction in the country has fallen to almost half.

This labor activist said that a lack of resources in the Social Security Organization is being used as an excuse to cut workers’ insurance, and stated that “today all the Organization’s thoughts and concerns are focused on providing funding from the worker’s pocket. We have repeatedly told officials that as long as their outlook is solely securing resources from people’s own pockets, the problems will not be solved.”