HRANA Recap: This Week’s Protests in Iran

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, a number of protests took place this week in Iran, many of which were continuations of ongoing movements.  Read our recap below for details, photos, and videos from the demonstrations.

Saturday, February 12

A group of teachers whose earnings are based on tuition fees went on strike and protested before the building of the Ministry of Education in Tehran. They chanted that they have enough of empty promises and will not go to class until their demands are met. The protestors said that their monthly wage is only 2 million tomans (approx. 80 dollars).

A number of retired workers of the Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company Haft-Tappeh assembled before the company headquarter to ask for their unpaid severances.

Retirees of the national company Isfahan Oil Industry assembled before the company pension office. They had made a list of their demands and handed it over to the Oil Minister’s office.

A group of workers of the cement factory, Sepahan, gathered and marched at their workplace to protest against low wages and poor living conditions.

A group of supervising agricultural engineers held protests before the governorate building of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Reportedly, a similar protest was held by agricultural engineers in Kerman Province. They protested against unfair employment contracts and a lack of job security.

All over the country, about five thousand supervising engineers are working for private companies and with temporary contracts hoping to be employed by the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad.

Several members of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association gathered in a park in Tehran to protest the conviction and the arrest of teacher union activists.

Monday, February 14

The pensioner and retirees of the Social Security Organization gathered before the Parliament building in Tehran and the Social Security building in Rasht, Arak, Shushtar, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Ahvaz, Sanandaj and Mashhad cities. They asked to raise pensions above the poverty line, to implement an enacted plan to close wage disparities, to address issues regarding supplementary insurance, last year’s bonuses and other demands.

A number of citizens who pre-purchased a vehicle from the Rigan Khodro Company, but who have not received their cars, held protests before the company offices in Tehran Province.

In Tabriz City, a number of street vendors held protests against the removal of their stuff by the municipality.

A group of pensioners of the Fulad Company pension fund held protests before the fund’s office in Isfahan City. Pensioners of the Fulad Company gather and protest every Sunday in various cities until their demands are met.

For the second consecutive day, a group of workers of the cement factory Sepahan protested at their workplace against low wages and demaned that their fired coworkers be returned to work.

A number of academics of the University of Medical Sciences of Yasuj protested on campus against the Planning and Budget Organization’s plan whereby an income ceiling for faculty members is set and the taxes will be raised without consideration for working conditions in remote areas.

The workers of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group assembled before the governorate building of Khuzestan Province to ask for their wage demands.

Monday, February 14

For the second consecutive day, workers of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group held protests before the governorate building of Khuzestan Province in Ahvaz City.

One of the workers said: “We have had these issues since 2016. For about two years, we have been on the streets to raise our voices to authorities. After two years, we returned to work, but since then just a few demands have been fulfilled. None of the managers who have taken over could deliver a satisfactory  performance.”

A number of workers of the Ahvaz Pipe Rolling Company held protests before the governorate building of Khuzestan Province. They protested against unjustifiable layoffs. Last month more than 50 workers who have been working for 4 to 15 years were laid off without justifiable reason. Some of them returned to work, however, about 35 workers are still out of work.

A number of ranchers in Ardestan County, located in Isfahan Province, assembled to protest against shortages in forage and livestock production inputs and ever-increasing prices.

A group of member of housing cooperation of Tehran Municipality Zone 2 assembled before the Tehran City Council Building to protest against a failure to address their issues.

A group of ranchers and nomads from Yazd Province gathered and protested before a slaughterhouse in Yazd City. Also, some ranchers and nomads in Yazd, Isfahan and Razavi Khorasan provinces announced that they have gone on strike and will refuse to deliver their livestock to the slaughterhouses.

A number of the workers of the Tire Company Kian Tire assembled before the factory in Tehran City to ask for their wage demands.

Tuesday, February 15

A group of citizens who lost their money in a cryptocurrency network known as “King Money” due to fraudulent financial acts gathered before the building of the Football Federation of Iran. They protested against the vice-chairman of the women’s football federation, Shohreh Mousavi, who is also the founder and manager of this cryptocurrency network. They hold Mousavi responsible for these fraudulent acts.

A number of stock market shareholders gathered before the Planning and Budget Organization in Tehran to protest high-interest rates and high tax levied on stock market companies.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *