Workers, pensioners and teachers staged several protests today in cities across Iran to demand their economic rights.
Following calls for protests by a Pensioners Union, Social Security pensioners held protests in several cities in Iran including in the capital Tehran, Karaj, the northwestern city of Karaj, Gilan in northern Iran, the northeastern city of Mashhad, the southwestern cities of Ahvaz, Khoram Abad and Ilam, Yazd in central Iran and the northwestern city of Tabriz to demand their economic rights.
In Tehran, the protesters gathered outside the parliament holding signs that read “livelihood is our inalienable right” and “we are hungry” demanding that the government address their economic woes.
Hundreds of Iranian contract teachers also gathered today outside the parliament to protest the ambiguities of their employment status.
They want their employment status to be clarified and their contracts to be standardized.
According to these teachers, their colleagues receive only 300 thousands tomans a month in some provinces and have a 10-day insurance plan. This is while their working hours are no different from formal teachers.
Municipal workers and employees in the central province of Isfahan and Ilam, in southwestern Iran, also gathered today to protest their employment status.
Due to a record low of the country’s currency and economic problems in Iran, the poverty line for a family of four has increased to 10 million tomans (around $314). This has left more than 60 million Iranians in poverty while 50% of the population live in abject poverty. With the sharp increase in the price of electronics, only a limited number of students can afford smartphones or tablets for online classes.
