Seminars on the Way towards an Inclusive Social Dialogue

 It appears that social insurance pension funds and the pension system in Iran are facing complex and multidimensional problems. The outcomes and effects of such problems have long-lasting and intergenerational impacts having been with us not only in micro and individual levels, but in social and macro levels in a wide range of economic, social, and political aspects.

Based on the past vivid and reliable experiences at national and international levels, it would sound safe to say that the problems of pension funds can no longer be resolved by common macro policies, and alongside with the immediate actions, such as termination or withdrawals of some harmful rules and regulations, coping with the lack of financial resources, and stabilizing the pension funds, it is surely necessary to come up with inclusive social dialogues so that apart from employing collective common thoughts in scrutinizing the roots of the problems, we can also introduce diplomatic mechanisms so as to encourage comprehensive participation in depicting the mission to be able to achieve a sort of social agreement. Taking account of the matter of tripartism in pension fund governance, as well as the involvement of all the present and future actors and stakeholders of the pension funds, managers and policymakers,  employers of public and private sectors, the government and welfare policymakers, researchers, and lawmakers and legislators in the Iranian Parliament, appear to be important, necessary, and inevitable in forming a successful social movement.

One of the most effective ways of forming such a discourse in the society is providing a chance for dialogue between and among the experts in the related field as well as the managers and policymakers of pension funds so as to achieve an agreement as regards the form and content of the existing issue. Within the relevant framework, Saba Pension Strategies Institute has included holding the seminars in its agenda so that it can perform its role in achieving the goal since it is believed that the nature of the challenges being encountered by the pension system should be discussed at “social-intergenerational” level rather than focusing solely on technical issues. Accordingly, the problems within the system cannot be resolved unless some inclusive and clear dialogues take place to address the conflicts. We hope holding the seminars can pave the way and result in helpful materials.