A group of Iranian government retirees assembled in front of Planning and Budget Organization on Monday, October 30 in Tehran, to protest high cost of living, limited insurance and calling for implementation of national management services law, Iran Labor News Agency, ILNA reported.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Free Trade Union announced that the protest will continue for three days.
Different retirees, including teachers and former employees of the ministry of Education, attended the gathering that was organized and announced through cyberspace calls, ILNA said.
According to Iran’s Free Labor Union’s Telegram channel, during the first day of their three-day sit-in protest, retirees were carrying banners saying, “Enough of Injustice and ruthlessness, there’s no food on our dining tables”, “Health, Honor and Making a Living are our unquestionable rights”, “Poverty line is forty million rials (roughly $1000), while our pension is ten million rials (roughly $250)”, “No nation has ever experienced such injustice”.
While the protest gathering was going on, the head of Supreme Center for retirees and pensioners of Social Welfare Organization, SWO, referred to a research and argued, “48% of SWO retirees have no insurance and do not receive any bonus. 52% of them do not have enough pension or income to make ends meet and 34% are deprived of appropriate medical services.
More than two months ago, on August 22, scores of retired teachers and other government pensioners had also held a protest rally in front of parliament.
Several workers’ syndicates and unions said hundreds of protesters participated in the demonstration.
The August 22 protest, according to Iran’s official state News Agency, IRNA, was organized by military retirees who were protesting against delaying the implementation of a law approved by parliament that requires matching the salary of military pensioners with the income of active personnel.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Free Labor Union announced, “There were nearly one thousand protesters present at Tuesday’s rally in front of the parliament.”
Hundreds of currently working teachers and workers were also there to support the retirees, the union reported.
