The following is the full text of the speech delivered on April 26, 2006 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with laborers
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I welcome all the dear brothers and sisters, particularly the brothers and sisters who have come here from distant cities. And I congratulate all of you on the occasion of Labor Week - which is an opportunity for us to express our gratitude to laborers in our country.
Since the beginning of the Revolution until today, laborers have passed all the tests before God Almighty, faithful people and God's angels - who are tasked with recording our good and bad deeds. They passed the test both during the political activities which led to the victory of the Islamic Revolution and during the time before the war started. When opposition groups had prepared themselves to penetrate labor unions and prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from moving forward, it was our laborers who delivered serious blows to them and dispersed them.
I witnessed this event up close. It is not a narration. Laborers also faced a serious test when they stood shoulder to shoulder with different people living in urban areas, villagers, students, religious scholars, employees and tradesmen in order to carry out the difficult and dangerous task of defending their country and Revolution. They were put to this test both in the battlefields and in factories - which acted like the rearguard of our army. If one day fair-minded authors decide to delineate the continuous movement of the Islamic Republic during the last twenty years, then it will become clear what the laborers of our country have done for the Revolution and how involved they are with their divine responsibilities. They can feel proud before Allah the Exalted. What they did was great. What they are doing today is also great.
Regarding the problems of laborers, if - by Allah's favor - what the honorable minister said is put into practice with the diligence of this administration, many of the problems of our laborers will be solved. Government officials should take care to fulfill their promises. They should pursue and implement matters. They should seriously pursue matters which are related to the problems of laborers, their living conditions, their dignity, their skill and their job security - I understand what these problems are and thankfully executive officials have identified these problems.
The problems which are related to social welfare, fixed-term contracts and similar problems and the problems which arise from the poor management skills of a few factory managers and result in laborers being laid off, should be solved by exercising patience and showing acumen, and by constantly following up these issues. Then the problems of laborers will be solved.
One of the issues regarding laborers is the relationships that exist between them and their employers. In Islam, these relationships are different from the relationships between laborers and employers in materialistic schools of thought. Capitalism, one of these materialistic schools, fully supports the capitalist and regards the laborer as a tool. Communism, another materialistic school, considered itself as the supporter of laborers and claimed that it would build a paradise in this world for laborers. But its performance showed that it could only fuel the fire of the hell that dominated the lives of not only laborers, but also the lives of other people in communist societies. In both systems - both capitalism and communism - the relationship between the laborer and the employer is a hostile relationship.
In capitalism, this relationship is based on exploitation and exerting pressures. In communism, the employer has been pictured as the manifestation of satan and as a monster. The reason was that the leaders of this school wanted to give the control of all production resources and factories to the government. They wanted to be the big employer. They implemented this plan, but the same plan destroyed them. It completely destroyed themselves and their people.
This is not the same in Islam. In Islam, the relationship between the laborer and the employer is not like the relationship between two enemies. It is like the relationship between two colleagues. The relationship is not based on exploitation. That is to say, the employer is not the sultan of the laborer. In western capitalism, the employer is the owner of everything. He may grant the laborer some concessions so that he does not lose his labor. But the relationship is based on exploitation. The laborer is like a tool. The employer does not regard the laborer as a human being. He regards him as a machine.
Islam vigorously condemns this. The laborer and the employer are two vital elements. In the absence of either of them, no work will be carried out. The laborer is the person who directly makes a product. The employer is the person who prepares the ground for production. The laborer is the one who makes the product and the employer is the one who provides the resources. The employer is the entrepreneur. In the absence of the laborer or the employer, there will be problems in production. They are like two partners and two soldiers who are in the same trench. This is the viewpoint of Islam.
Both of them should have sincerity and they should show kindness towards one another. Both the employer and the laborer should show these qualities to one another. They should respect one another's rights. If they do this - this is the viewpoint of Islam - the dignity of the investor, the entrepreneur and the employer and the dignity of the laborer - who is the person that makes the product and that is present on the scene - will be preserved. In this way, the dignity and the rights of each will be protected and our country will move towards achieving glory.
This is the proper kind of relationship between the laborer and the employer. Laborers should appreciate the value of employers, and employers should appreciate the value of laborers. They should be like two soldiers in a trench. If either of them is harmed, the other one will be harmed too. This is the important point. Developing such a relationship is the duty of the officials of our country, whether the officials who are in charge of making laws or the officials who are in charge of implementing these laws. This is a point which should be taken into consideration.
Another point is that all laborers - whether skilled and educated laborers at an advanced level, laborers of average skill or laborers with ordinary skill - should know that, from the viewpoint of Islam, working is a good deed. "Verily man is in loss, except those who believe and do good" [The Holy Quran, 103: 2-3]. Praying, fasting, going on a pilgrimage and engaging in divine remembrance are not the only good deeds. These are good deeds, but working and carrying out your duty in life are also good deeds. One of the most important good deeds is working.
It has been said in a narration that whenever the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) saw a young individual - who was able to work - sitting idle and not doing any work, he would say, "He fell from grace in my eyes." Working is a good deed. You have heard that when the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) saw the tough hands of one of his companions, he took his hands, kissed them and said, "[Hell] fire will not touch these hands." Is there any better deed than this? You should work like this.
When you go to your workshop, when you go to your farm, when you go to your workplace, when you go to your car to work with it, when you go to each part of the factory in which you work, you should know that Allah the Exalted will reward you for the work that you are going to do on that day. Allah the Exalted will give you a reward for any kind of work, whether the work is that of a skilled and advanced laborer does - thankfully, today there is no shortage of skilled and advanced workers in our country - or the work that a laborer of average skill does or the work that a laborer with ordinary skill does. The laborer with ordinary skill will have exactly the same status. Besides the fact that working is a way of making a living - which is also an important point and which is a kind of worship - working in itself is valuable.
If the general public in a country view working as a way of worshipping God, then that country will make great progress in economic and scientific areas. This is the logic of Islam. Therefore, the reason why we show our gratitude and kindness to laborers - and this is not an exaggeration - is that there is a deep and rich Islamic culture behind our kindness and respect.
Thankfully, this is how our laborers are. Of course, today we have the problem of unemployment and this problem should be cleared up with the diligence and wisdom of executive officials, who serve the people well - I have seen that they work day and night. Our government officials should follow up the issues related to laborers who are laid off - as I said - as a result of the incompetence and weakness of the managers of certain factories or because of, God forbid, some materialistic motives. Encountering a particular situation, these managers lay off laborers. Our society cannot tolerate this problem. We are now climbing a difficult slope in a firm way. We are not stagnant. Our society is a society which is moving forward in a firm way.
Do you see how the arrogant powers are tearing their hairs out? The things that Bush and people around him say show that they are tearing their hairs out. They are tearing their hairs out because you are moving forward in a completely firm way. Iranian society has not stopped moving. The Revolution came, opened the path and gave confidence to the people's movement. Before the victory of the Revolution, the paths were blocked and the motivation of the people had been undermined.
It used to be said that the Iranian people could not do anything, that the Iranian people did not have any competence. Influential people in the regime used to say this and they used to say this openly. They used to suppress our talented and innovative people. This is one of their biggest treacheries. The Revolution came and it opened the path. It said, "You can." We realized that what it said was true. We could accomplish our goals. Who would have believed that a country in which very few dams had been built - and they had been built by foreigners - would rank first in the entire region in terms of building dams because of its technological and scientific capabilities, its accurate calculations and other such capabilities? Who would have believed that a country in which many areas were deprived of electricity would move in the direction of producing nuclear energy on its own - not by getting it from other countries - so that it can supply its energy by using this modern technology in the world? Who would have believed this? We pursued these goals and we realized that we have the capability. We took action and we realized that we have the capability to reach our goals. Our nation has the experience in this regard. It will be the same from now on.
All the youth of our country, all the thinkers, all the elderly people of our country and all men and women should try hard to participate in this popular and great movement of our nation and they can do this. Wherever you are working, you should know that your work is part of this widespread movement. If you work skillfully, loyally and in a disciplined manner, you can influence this movement. And you should pay attention to the fact that the enemy does not want this. Our enemies and the evil leaders of global arrogance have found out that they cannot carry out a military attack on the Iranian people and the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have realized that this will inflict a lot of losses on them. They are allocating a budget and they are trying to create discord among the people of Iran - including students, laborers, organizations, employees and other different groups of people - in order to prevent our people from moving forward on the path that they are treading now. Today the enemy is after this. Everybody should be vigilant.
Our divine responsibility is that, wherever we are, we should keep our eyes and ears open more than ever and we should see what plan the enemy has devised for our current situation. We should not let him succeed in this plan. This is our duty.
Once, they used to threaten the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation with military attacks and other such things, not that they do not threaten us today. They sometimes do it. But they themselves know how harmful a military attack will be for them. And I would say that these American officials always speak in a threatening tone - not only to us, but to the entire world - so that they can reach their goals. It is always the same. Certain governments and certain nations lack a firm determination and they give in to the demands of the enemies when they are faced with their threats and they surrender to them. As a result, these people will be encouraged to always threaten other countries.
A vigilant, confident and determined nation will not pay attention to these threats, and nor will its officials. A government which is dependent on its people and which is supported and protected by its people is not afraid of these threats. I would like to announce that the Americans should know that if they do any harm to Islamic Iran, Islamic Iran will threaten their interests in the world, wherever possible. We are not the kind of people to sit and watch somebody harm us. We are after peace and tranquility and we do not harm anybody. The reasons are clear. Which country have we attacked? With which country have we started a war? Which country have we threatened? We are not the kind of people to do such things, but if anybody harms us, we are the kind of people to harm them twice as much.
I want to tell you dear brothers and sisters that the best way to fight global arrogance and the enemies is to try, as hard as we can, to build our country and make it progress. The more we make progress in scientific, technological and moral areas and the more we strengthen our national unity, our faith and our spiritual motives, the more the enemy will retreat. This is the most significant fight that the Iranian nation can put up.
I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow success on all of you and on us so that we can carry out the duties that we have in an efficient way. I ask Allah the Exalted to make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) satisfied and happy with us. I ask Him to make the immaculate soul of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and the souls of our dear martyrs - whatever we have is because of them - satisfied and happy with us.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings