Economic protests in Iran on Monday, April 15, continued with farmers gathering in Isfahan province (central Iran) and school janitors protesting in Khomeinishahr (Isfahan province).
According to reports on Monday, April 15, a group of farmers from the east and west of Isfahan once again gathered in protest of the authorities’ failure to fulfill promises to reopen the Zayandeh Rud river at Khorasgan Square.
The protesting farmers parked their tractors at Khorasgan Square and went on strike in this location; a trend that has also occurred in recent days.
Some sources have referred to this round of farmer protests as a result of their “water rights being usurped” by “government entities.”
In the city of Varzaneh, Isfahan province, protesting farmers lined up their tractors in protest of the violation of their water rights and “in hopes of securing a continuous water supply.”
A group of service personnel and school janitors in the fifth district of Isfahan as well as in Khomeinishahr of this province gathered on Monday in protest of their economic situation.
The gathering of educational service personnel in protest of “below poverty line” wages of less than “100 million rials (approximately $150)” and “empty tables and broken promises” has occurred.
About 10,000 retired teachers, mostly “employees of the education sector who retired in 2021,” have been gathering since Sunday, April 14, in front of the Planning and Budget Organization.
This round of teacher protests was sparked by demands including “prompt payment of overdue bonuses, which have been delayed for 31 months,” “amendment of their retirement benefits based on the implementation guidelines for adjusting retirement benefits by 90% according to ranking,” “prompt payment of 30 months of overdue retirement benefits from October 2021 to March 2024,” and “payment of ranking-related arrears for the time they served, which has been more than two years.”
These retirees insist on their rights and demand quick reforms,” and the authorities of the Planning and Budget Organization, the Ministry of Education, and the National Retirement Organization have promised that “the problem of these retired educators will be addressed as soon as possible.”
According to the Retirees Council of Iran, in Qazvin, a large number of victims of the Taravat Novin Reyhan Tak company staged a rally in the central streets of this city, demanding the dismissal of Hossein Rajabi, the prosecutor of Qazvin, with slogans of “Corrupt Prosecutor, We Don’t Want You.”
Retirees of the Social Security Organization in this city gathered in protest of the “poor economic situation and the non-fulfillment of their demands” in front of the building of this organization and staged a rally.
Fluctuations in the foreign exchange and gold markets in recent days have exacerbated the economic concerns of workers. In this regard, a member of the Supreme Council of Workers’ Representatives has stated that without these changes, a 35% increase in wages would have no impact on people’s purchasing power.
According to previous reports, the dollar wage value in Iran has dropped from $136 in the third week of March to $119 in the second week of April.
