As the value of the Iranian rial continues to plummet, economic protests in Iran persist with demonstrations by retired telecommunications employees, protests by nurses, strikes by oil industry workers, gatherings of merchants opposing the recession, and protests by job applicants for the Agricultural Jihad Ministry.
The rise in economic protests across the country comes as the Iranian rial has further depreciated following the belligerent remarks of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei regarding negotiations with the United States. Meanwhile, on Monday, March 10, the market price of one US dollar reached 953,000 rials, and the price of a single gold coin was approximately 790 million rials (approximately $831).
Sharp Price Increases Ahead of Nowruz; Iran’s Economic Crisis Worsens
According to reports circulating on social media on Monday, March 10, protests by retirees took place in at least the cities of Tabriz, Sanandaj, Hormozgan, Marivan, and Bijar.
Retired telecommunications workers in Sanandaj chanted in their protest: “A nation has never seen such injustice.”
The executive bylaw of Article 24 of the National Service Law, passed in 2010, concerns the tasks that can be delegated and the procedures for purchasing services from the private sector. According to this regulation, “until the obstacles to delegation are removed,” the responsibility for providing services to the workforce remains with the executive body, i.e., the government. However, 14 years after the approval of this bylaw and despite the retirees’ continuous and repeated protests, it appears that neither have the “obstacles to delegation” been resolved nor has the executive body fulfilled its obligations toward the protesters.
The weekly protests by retired telecommunications employees have been ongoing for months, consistently taking place on Mondays. The reasons for their protests include the lack of updates to welfare benefits in 2022 and 2023, management’s disregard for the 2010 bylaw, issues with supplementary insurance, and the failure to pay past dues at current rates.
Additionally, a group of contract workers at the Fourth Refinery of South Pars protested against what they described as “wage suppression.”
Gonabad Market: A Powder Keg Awaiting a Spark
Some merchants in Gonabad staged a protest in front of the Ghasabeh police station against what they described as “harassment by the regulatory authorities.”
The situation in Gonabad’s market is like a powder keg waiting for a spark.
A number of shopkeepers in the Chaharbagh shoe market have protested against the economic stagnation.
A citizen report from Abhar, a city in Qazvin province, also highlights the sluggish market conditions. In a video report, a person points to the economic downturn and the empty shops, stating, “This is the state of Abhar’s market ten days before Nowruz—this is how our business is this year.”
Nurses’ Protest in Tabriz
According to another citizen report on Monday, a group of nurses and staff at Mardani Azar Hospital in Tabriz gathered to protest “economic and wage-related hardships.”
The protesters chanted: “The silence of any nurse is a betrayal to colleagues.”
Agricultural Jihad Ministry Job Applicants Protest
Additionally, a group of job applicants for the Agricultural Jihad Ministry gathered in front of the Administrative and Employment Organization to protest the recruitment of fewer employees than initially promised.
The protesters stated that, according to the recruitment booklet, 19,000 people were supposed to be hired, but “in the end, only 10,000 were recruited.”
Tehran University Staff Protest
Furthermore, a group of Tehran University employees gathered on Sunday on 16 Azar Street to protest against “low wages and inadequate welfare benefits.”
The protest was specifically against the “unfair and unequal wage increases” among employees in different university departments.
Expansion of Labor and Professional Protests in Iran
The growing labor and professional protests by various groups—including retirees, workers in different industries, teachers, defrauded investors, nurses, and healthcare staff—highlight the increasing economic hardships in Iran and the negligence of the Iranian authorities.
The continuous depreciation of the national currency against foreign currencies, worsening economic crises, and the declining purchasing power of the people have pushed markets into a severe recession—right before Nowruz and during Ramadan, two periods that traditionally boost business activity in Iran.
