Title: Landmark Update on Public Sector Bonuses and Administrative Reform Unveiled
In a significant address to the Iranian Parliament, the head of the country’s Administrative and Employment Organization, Aladdin Rafiezadeh, provided a comprehensive update on the progress and challenges of the Seventh Development Plan, directly addressing the status of special bonuses for government employees.
A Complex Reform Agenda
During a public session dedicated to reviewing the plan’s implementation, Rafiezadeh outlined the ambitious scope of the reforms. He confirmed that a detailed operational plan for reforming the administrative system under the fourteenth government has been approved and communicated, marking a new phase in a three-decade-long effort to modernize Iran’s public sector.
“The Seventh Development Plan’s Chapter 23 has 8 articles, with 5 of them directly assigning tasks to our organization,” Rafiezadeh stated. “In total, we are responsible for 36 executive mandates.”
Significant Progress on Key Indicators
The official reported substantial success in achieving several key performance indicators outlined in the plan. He highlighted that six out of seven quantitative targets have been met, with an average achievement rate exceeding 80%.
Notable successes include:
- A 100% achievement rate in designing and revising work procedures, far exceeding the 5% target for the current year.
- The identification and reorganization of state-owned buildings for 17 major agencies.
- The delegation of 775 functions and authorities to provincial executive units.
- Over 96% of executive bodies are now connected to the unified government services window, providing services electronically.
The Challenge of Workforce Reduction
A central point of discussion was the target for a 15% reduction in the workforce of executive bodies. Rafiezadeh clarified that achieving this specific goal is currently not feasible due to structural conflicts within the law itself.
“While one article of the law mandates a reduction in personnel, approximately 38 other provisions in the Seventh Development Plan call for the expansion of structures and an increase in human resources,” he explained.
He provided the example of the education sector, which is legally obligated to reduce classroom density to a maximum of 35 students—a requirement that necessitates hiring more teachers, not fewer. A similar dynamic exists in emergency medical services. Rafiezadeh emphasized that the core issue is not an overall surplus of staff, but an “imbalance in distribution,” with central headquarters having excess personnel while operational levels face shortages.
Update on Special Bonuses and Hiring Permits
Directly addressing the financial concerns of government employees, Rafiezadeh turned to Article 106, which deals with hiring permits and the payment of special bonuses.
“The executive instruction for this has been prepared,” he confirmed. However, he pointed to a significant financial hurdle. “Our estimates indicate that fully implementing it would create a financial burden of approximately 600 ‘Hamt’ (thousands of billions of Tomans) in the upcoming year and 720 ‘Hamt’ the following year.”
He concluded that without a dedicated budget allocation, the full implementation of this particular mandate, which includes the special bonuses, is not currently viable.
A Push for Prudent Structural Change
Rafiezadeh ended his address by reinforcing the government’s commitment to eliminating parallel and non-essential organizations, a recurring theme in past development plans that has seen limited practical application.
“This time, we are acting with seriousness,” he asserted, noting that with nearly 90% of the national budget being operational and current expenditure, such structural reforms are essential. He called for parliamentary cooperation and support to realize these critical changes for the nation’s administrative future.