Meeting with Thousands of Workers from Across the Country

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The days of the Workers' Week do not solely belong to our dear workers; they belong to all Iranians. The working class is, in fact, one of the frontline ranks of the general efforts of the country and the nation to build the future. What Islam states regarding workers—in the broad sense of the word—is not mere flattery; it is not for the sake of pleasing anyone. When the great Prophet of Islam bends down and kisses the hand of a worker, this cannot be interpreted as a mere act of courtesy; it is cultural education, it is a lesson; it is meant to ensure that throughout time and history, the skilled hands of workers and their active arms are appreciated in the Islamic community. We view the working class through this lens. Simple workers, skilled workers, engineers, designers, and all those who strive in the production chain and product creation are deserving of this respect and honor from Islam.

The demands of workers—which are material demands—are valid in their own right; everyone is obliged to address and fulfill these material demands, which are indeed rights. However, there is also a spiritual demand, which is the dignity of the worker; it is the importance of recognizing the efforts and activities of the worker; it must be understood that this is a form of jihad; this is significant. A worker, whether behind a machine, during design and planning, or working in a field, or anywhere else where work is being done and products are being created, must feel and know that they are bringing forth a great act, an important act, a value; Islam wants to convey this. This is our heartfelt belief. There is a vast distance between this perspective and the materialistic worldview, whether it be capitalist or socialist, which views the worker merely as a tool. Today, in the capitalist world, sometimes some workers are in good material conditions—though this is not universal, sometimes it is the case that their situation is good—yet even that is seen by employers and policymakers of work and production as a tool; like a screw and a nut; as long as they have value, they can provide material value, money. There is a significant gap between this view of the worker and the view that sees the worker as a fighter in the path of God; for the work they do, beyond all material rewards, they are considered to have a divine reward, a divine value, a divine recompense; these perspectives are vastly different; this is necessary, this is the true need.

In the Islamic system, in our beloved Islamic Republic, the working class has passed a very good test from the beginning of the revolution until today. During the imposed war, all those who were present witnessed the significant presence of the working class, both urban and rural workers, industrial and agricultural workers, service workers, and others; their presence in military arenas or in military support arenas was observed, and it was seen that our workers played a role during those eight years. Moreover, from the beginning of the revolution until today, workers in the Islamic Republic have passed one of the best tests.

You know that the working class and the political slogans that are created for the working class in the world are always one of the pressure levers against governments. In the Islamic Republic, from the very first day, enemies have tried to use this pressure lever against the Islamic Republic. I myself, on the 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd of Bahman in 1979, due to an incident, received news that some individuals affiliated with Marxist and leftist groups went to one of the factories on the Karaj road, intending to establish a base there—where there was a significant presence of workers; there are so many factories densely located on the old Karaj road—gather the workers from there, and march towards the Imam's residence and the Alavi School where the Imam was residing, thinking they could seize control of the situation. I went there. That factory had about three to four hundred workers. The number of people gathered in that hall was seven to eight hundred; that is, non-workers had also come. I spent several days at that factory, going in the morning and returning in the evening; one day I stood behind the podium for nearly seven hours, speaking, discussing; someone from among them came, shouted slogans, argued, and I responded and justified. Ultimately, the workers themselves expelled that destructive group from the factory. From that day until today, creating political slogans and taking political leverage by workers against Islam and the Islamic system has been part of the enemies' plans against Islam and the Islamic Republic. For thirty years, they have been trying to use this lever against the Islamic Republic, and for thirty years, our workers have struck back at them. This is our understanding of the working class. This is the sincerity between the working class and the Islamic system, which relies on faith; it relies on the solid foundation upon which the Islamic system was established. Therefore, the movement of the entire country, in the direction of production, will proceed with the centrality of workers and producers—both workers and employers—and they cannot create disruption.

Now, let us look at the essence of the matter. The material progress of the country primarily depends on two elements: one element is knowledge; the other element is production. If there is no knowledge, production will also suffer; the country progresses with knowledge. If there is knowledge, but production does not evolve and develop based on this knowledge and foundation, the country will stagnate. The flaw in our work during the reign of the tyrants was that we had neither knowledge, and since there was no knowledge, we had no production based on knowledge that was progressive and growing. Thus, when the world entered the industrial field, it advanced; the Asian continent, which entered the industrial field later than Europe, progressed; but we, due to the rule of these tyrants and various conditions, fell behind. If we want to catch up—which we do, and our nation has made significant strides—we must prioritize knowledge and production; we must pursue this in centers of knowledge and research, with new and modern methods. For several years, I have emphasized the issue of knowledge, and thanks be to God, the wheels of scientific progress and knowledge production in the country have begun to turn; however, it must accelerate further; we are still at the beginning of the path.

The second is production. Production, whether in the industrial sector or in agriculture, is of utmost importance. A country that does not have production will inevitably be dependent. Even if all the oil and gas in the world is stored beneath our lands and in our wells, it will not be of any use to us; as you can see, there are countries that, in terms of mineral and natural resources—whether energy resources or very valuable and rare metals—are extremely wealthy, yet they live in miserable and wretched conditions on this land that has so many treasures hidden beneath it. Production in the country—especially knowledge-based production, reliant on scientific and experiential skills—must advance; this is in the hands of workers and employers. The management of it is also with the government; they must organize and work. The policies of Article 44, which we communicated to the governmental and legislative bodies a few years ago, can play a role; however, everyone must exercise the necessary diligence here.

Human beings are strange creatures, my dear ones! Sometimes worship and night prayers can become a means of the devil's infiltration, a means of deceiving the soul of the person who is praying! All good ideas, all noble and honorable thoughts can become an opening for the devil. The policies of Article 44 are very good, very necessary, and must certainly be implemented in full; but they must be careful that it does not become like that night prayer that is a trap of the devil. From here, the devils can also infiltrate. I have said many times; unscrupulous individuals, lawbreakers, those who know how to manipulate officials and ordinary people to gain a bait; these people buy the factory, then under various pretexts, they paralyze the factory, make the workers unemployed; then from the outdated machinery of that factory, they extract money from its sale, and from the land of that factory, they reach billions and millions; such things have happened, and can happen; everyone must be vigilant.

Another issue in the field of work is the relationship between workers and employers. Both methods that were common in the conventional world of our time—the socialist method and the capitalist method—are wrong. In the logic of socialist thought, the worker and the employer were two enemies facing each other; two enemies, thirsty for each other's blood; this was their analysis. The solution they proposed was a false and invalid solution: state ownership of all production resources and means of production; which, after several decades, led to disgrace. That was one perspective, which viewed the relationship between workers and employers as one of enmity and conflict. The other perspective is the Western logic, which sees the employer as the master of the worker, the one who has authority over the worker, and the worker as a tool in their hands. This is also a degradation of human dignity; it is wrong upon wrong. Both perspectives are incorrect.

Islam's perspective is not this. The Islamic perspective is one of cooperation. These are two elements; when they combine, work is created. Contrary to the leftist and Marxist view, which saw everything based on conflict—thank God, it has been erased from the pages of philosophical thought in the world—Islam's view is one of healing; it is a view of cooperation. Instead of being oppositional, these two elements must come together to create a third entity. This is the Islamic view; it is the view of nature, the view of divine tradition and the laws of creation. In all matters of the world, it is the same; from natural matters to political, historical, economic, and non-economic matters. The Islamic theory, in contrast to the Marxist theory of conflict, is a theory of healing, coalition, marriage, companionship, and alignment. Regarding the issue of workers and employers, it is the same; these are two elements that must join hands to create work, to create production. A worker cannot do anything without an employer, and an employer cannot do anything without a worker. When these two come together, they define a healthy, ethical, and humane relationship between themselves, then the atmosphere becomes one of expanding production. In addition to material progress, spirituality also emerges. This is our perspective. We do not view the employer as that cursed and rejected leftist current; nor do we see them as a master and sovereign as that rightist current; no, the employer can be a noble element—when they truly cooperate, they are indeed noble—another noble element alongside the noble worker; together, hand in hand, they move with defined human and Islamic relationships. This is the foundation of work. Everyone must work in this direction. Designers, policymakers, politicians, and those who are in the execution phase must work in this direction. Then the workers and employers themselves must also strive with complete sincerity to advance the country's production.

We are behind, my dear ones! Of course, if we compare with the era of the tyrants, we are much ahead. During the era of the tyrants, for the smallest part and element of the production and machinery and factory and industry, we were dependent on foreigners. The factories that were produced were assembly factories, completely dependent on foreigners. We did not know how to design, we did not know how to build, we did not know the necessary elements. We had to obtain everything from others; we wanted, we begged, we gave oil, we paid money, we sacrificed our political reputation, we went under their domination to obtain it. Today, the Iranian nation exports technical services. Today, your country is one of the most prominent and top-tier in dam construction and power plant construction in the world. Where is this, and where was that? Today, the works you are doing—industrial works, industrial services, technical services—are being sought after in many countries. In many countries around the world, you are establishing production lines. These discussions had no meaning during the era of the tyrants. Could we go to a country, a populous country, perhaps rich in oil, and establish production lines?! Industrial production?! These discussions had no meaning at all; but today it has become a reality. Therefore, compared to the past, we are much ahead; but compared to what the dignity of the Iranian nation requires, compared to what our historical legacy necessitates, compared to what Iran should be among the countries of the world, we are behind; we must move forward. We have a lot of work to do. When I say "double effort," it is for this reason. Our effort should not just be to remove this stone from our path—that is nothing—our effort should be to reach the summit. Double effort means this. Well, this does not come easily; it cannot be achieved by mere talking and praising; it comes with entering—truly entering—the field of work and innovation.

The effort of the worker, the effort of the engineer, the effort of the designer, the effort of the researcher in the research center—who is providing scientific support for this work—the effort of the employer and the financial supporter, the effort of the government official, all of these must be doubled, multiplied, and it can be done. Our capacity is much greater than this, my dear ones! There are times when a person is offered a task that is beyond their capacity; well, that is not rational; but sometimes you look at a young person, and when you look at their physique, when you look at their muscles, you see they can be a top wrestler, they can be a top gymnast, they can become a star in a certain sport; you say: "Go and strive." This is different from the weak person who, even after twenty years of exercising, cannot become a good wrestler. The Iranian nation is like that talented young person with a good physique and capacity; if they make the necessary effort, they will reach that peak and become a star. The Iranian nation is like this; it has shown this. These are not claims, they are not slogans; these are realities that have been clear to us from studies, and the experiences of these thirty years have made it as clear as day.

A nation that receives no help, that has the doors to industrial products and technological advancements closed to it, then produces the second, third, and fourth generations of centrifuges by itself! All the holders of nuclear powers and nuclear industries in the world are astonished. Well, where did they learn this? A nation that has received no help in biological sciences suddenly finds that it can produce an animal from stem cells. How many countries have this? Seven, eight, nine countries. Among all these countries, suddenly moving from the two-hundredth rank—let's say— to the eighth rank. What does this indicate? Does it not indicate extraordinary talent? At the beginning of the war, we did not know what an RPG was—an RPG is a small missile; those who were in the war saw it and experienced it many times—we had neither it, nor did we know about it, nor was it part of our organized weapons; now, after several years, with sanctions, our country produces the Sajil missile, it produces satellite launch vehicles; the world stands in astonishment, looking with surprise. At first, they denied it; they said they are lying, they cannot do it; then they saw, no, it exists. It is the same in all sectors. Well, what does this mean? It means that this young person is very talented; this nation is very capable; this human resource is very valuable and precious. We must utilize this. Therefore, we can. Double effort means bringing this capacity to fruition.

The world that is arrayed against Iran, showing its teeth and brandishing bloody claws, and behaving unethically, and wherever it can, seeks to create a problem, is the world of global arrogance; it is the world influenced by and in the grip of the oppressive and tyrannical capitalist system. They cannot tolerate this because it is outside their rule; therefore, they oppose it, as you see the enmities over these thirty years. What has not been lacking, and everyone has seen and their eyes are full, are the enmities and malice of our enemies. They have not been able to do anything, and after this, rest assured they will not be able to do anything.

Our reliance is on divine grace, on divine success. Our reliance is on the same faith that I first referred to, which has penetrated the hearts of you and each individual of the Iranian nation and is rooted there. When this reliance exists and a person brings their effort and strength into the realm of action, it becomes "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds"; that faith of yours, this is also righteous action. The numerous good promises given in the Quran to the believer with righteous deeds—victory in this world, success and prosperity in the realm of spirituality and the hereafter, closeness to God the Exalted, dignity and honor and triumph in this world and the hereafter—these are the results of that faith and righteous action. We must move forward on this path.

God's mercy and peace be upon our Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who showed us this path; he set us on this path; he took our hand; he awakened us with his divine essence and led us into this valley. As this nation progresses, God the Exalted will increase the merits of that great man. And peace and mercy of God be upon our martyrs, upon our Mojahedin, and upon those who sacrificed in this path, who took their lives in their hands and came to the forefront; whether they themselves, or their families, or those who were martyred, or those who were physically harmed, became disabled, and those who, thanks be to God, remained for our nation. May God reward them all. We hope that all of you will be among those who receive divine success and the pure prayers of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.