Human Rights,Iran human rights,Iran Opposition,Iran Protests,Iran Teachers,Teachers' Protests in Iran
Iranian teachers: the most vulnerable social class in Iran.
Many non-profit teachers in Iran earn less than 1 million Tomans, but even this paltry salary hasn’t been put into teachers’ bank accounts during the quarantine period of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Iran Protests,MEK,MEK Support,Mujahedin-e Khalq,Teachers' Protests in Iran
Iran Protests continue in various cities- May 2019
Based on reports from MEK sources inside Iran, Iranians from a variety of sectors of society in numerous cities in Iran took part in twelve separate demonstrations on Tuesday, May 22, 2019. The groups protesting included farmers, administrative employees, villagers, nurses, oil refinery workers, labor union members, looted credit firm clients, and retired teachers.
In the capital city of Tehran, metro employees from the Tehran City Rail Company protested their demotions from permanent to contract employees.
Metro Holding Company employees held their own protest over similar changes in their employment status.
Labor union members held a rally in Marzdaran Boulevard in protest of delays in the receipt of purchased property and the unavailability of their financial assets.
Looted clients of the Caspian Credit Firm, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), held a rally outside of regime President Hassan Rouhani’s offices to demand the return of their stolen savings.
May 21 – Tehran, #Iran
Outside the office of regime President Hassan Rouhani
Clients of the IRGC-linked Caspian credit firm are demanding their stolen savings returned.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/BziQOYU6Ts— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 21, 2019
The protesters chanted: “Where is our money?”
“Enough with promises; we have nothing to eat!”
“We trusted you with our money; you betrayed us!”
The IRGC was recently designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States government.
Retired teachers gathered in front of the Ministry of Education building in Tehran to protest low wages and delayed pensions. The pensioners cited regime corruption and embezzlement as the root cause of their economic distress and complained that their demands have gone unanswered after numerous protests. The MEK reported on their protest on Wednesday.
The pensioners held a banner which read, “The result of 30 years of hard work should be provided for all at once. We will no longer tolerate any more delays.”
They chanted:“We are in solidarity, tired of just promises!”
“Pensions of teachers and educators must be provided for!”
“We will not rest until our pensions are paid!”
“Our wages are in rials, our expenses are in dollars!”.
“One less case of embezzlement will resolve our pension demands!”
May 21 – Tehran, #Iran
Retired teachers, education workers rallying outside the regime's Education Ministry & demanding their long-delayed pensions.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/1jBB3zfXLF— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 21, 2019
Earthquake victims in the village of Sarpol Zahab rallied outside of the mayor’s office to protest water shortages. The village in western Iran was hit by an earthquake in late 2017 and was struck by last month’s deadly floods. Many of the villagers were still living in tents and trailers when the floods hit.
Protesters across Mazandaran Province rallied outside of a local law firm and then marched to the mayor’s office in the town of Nour to protest regime officials’ refusal to extend an agreement to protect the local forest and their firing of forest authorities.
In the city of Karaj, 98 hospital employees and nurses at the Khomeini Hospital held a rally in protest of their delayed wages.
Sanitation workers in Karaj went on strike and held a rally in protest of the recent decision by the local municipality to fire some of their colleagues.
A disenchanted garlic farmer in the village of Iranabad, Ardabil Province, dug up his crops and left them to rot in protest of the falling price of garlic and the lack of assurance that he will be able to sell his crops at all.
This farmer was the second man to dig up his garlic as an act of protest. A farmer in a neighboring village recently protested in the same fashion.
Employees at the Bild Boland oil refinery of Behbahan went on strike in protest of low wages and pensions, poor living conditions, and high inflation.
Employees and retirees from the Azar Ab Water Company in Arak gathered to protest the delay of their paychecks and pensions. The Azar Ab Water Company has not paid its employees or retirees in at least three months.
Staff writer
Iran Protests,MEK,PMOI,Teachers' Protests in Iran
Iranian teachers take it to the street again, protesting low and unpaid wages. A large group of retired teachers demonstrate in front of Iran’s Ministry of Education-May 21, 2019
On Tuesday, May 21st, a group of retired teachers gathered in front of the Ministry of Education building in Tehran to protest the regime’s failure to respond to their grave economic concerns.
The protesting retirees held banners and signs reading, “The result of 30 years of hard working should be paid as quickly as possible, and we cannot accept this cunctation [delay].”
May 21 – Tehran, #Iran
Retired teachers, education workers rallying outside the regime's Education Ministry & demanding their long-delayed pensions.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/1jBB3zfXLF— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 21, 2019
In videos shared on social media, the protesting retirees were heard chanting, “We will not be silent until getting our rights!”
#IranProtests May 21
Retired Iranian teachers protesting outside the Ministry of Education in #Tehran to their low pension.
Chanting:" We will not be silent until getting our rights' pic.twitter.com/6ioE8dh18N— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) May 21, 2019
Many retired teachers complain that their pensions have not been paid on time, causing them an undue economic burden. The teachers cited regime embezzlement and corruption as the root cause of their delayed pensions.
The retired teachers have also repeatedly protested their low pensions, with some protesters saying that their paychecks only cover the costs of the first ten days of the month.
Over the past year, retired teachers and other pensioners have held a number of rallies and demonstrations in protest of low wages, poor benefits, and delayed paychecks. The regime has refused to respond to any of their demands.
The problem of low wages is not limited to retirees. Currently, 80% of the Iranian population lives below the poverty line. The minimum wage places the average family of four at 50% of the poverty level, and the problem is growing.
According to ISNA state-run News Agency, “Article 41 of the Iranian Labor Law states that the minimum wage shall be sufficient to meet the living expenses of a family and should take into account the inflation rate announced by the Central Bank.”
The minimum wage clearly does not comply with the regime’s own labor laws, even assuming that the inflation rate was properly adjusted for. The inflation rate in Iran has skyrocketed over the past year, and the regime has not accurately reflected the inflation rate in its currency rate.
Even those earning well above the minimum wage fall below the poverty line. The formerly robust middle-class in Iran has all but disappeared, leaving only those with ties to the regime and its entities with wealth.
Compounding the problem is the fact that workers from many sectors of society are often not paid for months at a time. Those who go on strike to protest working without pay are subject to threats and intimidation by the regime.
Last fall, the MEK reported extensively on the months-long strikes by the Haft Tappeh Sugar Mill workers in Shush. In December, the striking sugar factory workers were arrested in the dead of night in a series of violent midnight raids on workers’ homes. Some workers slept on the streets out of fear that they would be targeted. At least two of the strike organizers were tortured while in custody.
The oppressive Iranian regime has responded to the economic crises of its own making by punishing the victims of its corruption and mismanagement for speaking up and ignoring their suffering. This pattern will not change until the people rise up and overthrow their oppressors.
Staff writer
Iran Protests,Maryam Rajavi,MEK Network,National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI),PMOI,Teachers' Day,Teachers' Protests in Iran
Teachers’ Day Protests across Iran asking for their colleagues that had been imprisoned during previous demonstrations to be released.
On Thursday, Iranian teachers in Tehran taking part in a peaceful protest in recognition of Teachers’ Day were attacked by security forces. The teachers had gathered outside of the Ministry of Education building in response to a nationwide call to protest from teachers unions.
#Iran: Teachers Protest in Dozens of Cities and Towns Against Plunder and Repression by Mullahs' Regime
Condemn the repressive regime and take urgent action for the release of detained teachers pic.twitter.com/3ZQiSy72kl— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 2, 2019
The protesting teachers and educational support workers carried handmade signs reading: “Imprisoned teachers must be freed.”
“Imprisoned workers must be freed.”
“Your pain is our pain, people must rise up and join us.”
Teachers’ Day demonstrations took place in dozens of Iranian cities on Thursday, as Iran’s teachers used the annual holiday to renew their demands for better pay, benefits, and working conditions; to call for free, quality education for every child; and to once again demand the release of their jailed colleagues.
Protests took place in the cities of Isfahan, Divandareh, Tabriz, Mallard, Karaj, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Qazvin, Marivan, Urmia, Yazd, Homayounshahr, Sari, Khorrmabad, Mahabad, Mashhad, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Kurdistan, Ardebil, and Javanroud, according to MEK sources inside Iran. Teachers in a number of cities are believed to have joined the protests after the MEK prepared the initial list. Teachers in these cities gathered outside of their local Ministry of Education buildings to protest.
Teachers and educational support workers in Kermanshah chanted, “Majlis [the regime’s parliament] and the government do not care about the teachers.”
Teachers in Hamadan held handmade signs reading: “Imprisoned teachers must be freed.”
“Stop privatizing schools and education.”
“Children must receive a free and quality education.”
“We demand decent pay for our work.”
Teachers in Mallard carried posters and placards which read: “Free education is the right of every child.”
“We demand salary and wages above the poverty line for teachers and pensioners.”
Iranian teachers have protested dozens of times over the past year in response to substandard pay and working conditions and lack of freedom to advocate for themselves and their students. Iran’s teachers launched nationwide strikes in October 2018, November 2018, and March 2019. The regime refuses to address their concerns and arrested many of the organizers of the strikes.
The teachers have made a list of their unmet demands, which include:
Thursday’s attack comes a day after 35 protesters were arrested by Iranian security forces while participating in a peaceful demonstration in honor of International Labour Day.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) saluted the protesting teachers for standing up against the repressive regime and its forces. She tweeted:
“Teachers’ protests and their stand against repressive rgm forces showed public anger & disgust at religious dictatorship and demand for change; ‘People join us, our problem is your problem,’ ‘Teachers are imprisoned, extortionists are free’
#Iran”
She also called on international human rights groups and teachers’ unions to take action to secure the release of imprisoned teachers in Iran, tweeting:
I call on #Iran people, specially students, to support teachers and their rightful demands. International human rights orgs & teachers unions worldwide should condemn clerical rgm & take urgent action to freed detained and imprisoned teachers
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) May 2, 2019
“I call on #Iran people, especially students, to support teachers and their rightful demands. International human rights orgs & teachers unions worldwide should condemn clerical rgm & take urgent action to freed detained and imprisoned teachers”.
Staff writer