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Iran: Retirees and defrauded customers of state-backed companies hold protest rallies

By Mahmoud Hakamian
protests retirees august 13
Retirees of the Iranian regime's Social Security Organization hold protest rallies in different cities—August 13, 2023

Retirees of the regime’s Social Security Organization returned to streets in several cities across Iran on Sunday as their lives continue to plunge into poverty and the regime continues to ignore their most basic needs. Protests were reported in Kermanshah, Rasht, Shush, Ahvaz, and Karaj.

In Rasht, protesters were chanting, “Inflation has broken the people’s backs!”

In the past few years, retirees across Iran have been protesting their deteriorating living conditions, especially as the government refuses to adjust their pensions based on the inflation rate and fluctuations in the price of the rial, Iran’s national currency. The price of most basic goods have spiked several fold while pensioners continue to receive the same stipends as before.

In Kermanshah, the protesters were chanting, “The government commits crimes, the parliament supports it!”

One of the demands that pensioners and retirees from different sectors are repeatedly raising is the regime neglecting its own laws. According to the regime’s laws, the government is required to provide the basic needs of pensioners. It must adjust pensions according to the costs of living. But while the government dithers and refrains from doing so, other branches of power also refrain from taking any action, further proving that the regime in its entirety is involved in destroying the lives of millions of Iranians.

In Shush, a group of retirees from Shush, Karkheh, and Haft Tappeh held a joint protest rally. The protesters were chanting, “[The regime] looted the Social Security [fund] and ruined our lives!”

This is another reality of the lives of retirees in Iran. In the years that they were working, they have put their savings into different retirement funds, hoping to be cared for when they retire. But the regime has looted retirement funds and used the money for different purposes and for its nefarious goals.

In their slogans, the protesters in Shush reflected the reality that the regime will not solve their problems and they must take matters into their own hands with their protest rallies.

“Incomplete wages… this is what you get when you remain silent!” the protesters are chanting.

In Ahvaz, the retirees held their rally in the scorching summer heat. The protesters held placards that called on the regime to implement articles 96 and 111 of the Social Security law.

According to article 111, the wages of pensioners must not be lower than the minimum salary of the workers. And according to article 96, the Social Security Organization is required to adjust pensions at most every year to reflect the changes in the costs of living.

Also on Sunday, the defrauded customers of the state-backed Pishtaz Mehr car company held a protest rally in Takestan, Qazvin province. Pishtaz Mehr is one of several state-backed car companies that have become a symbol of the corruption of the vehicle industry that has regime officials’ fingerprints all over it.

On the previous day, another group of defrauded customers from Rezayat Khodro, another state-backed car manufacturer, held a protest rally in Takestan. The protesters had previously made down payments to receive vehicles from this company but the company refrained from delivering their purchases on time. The company continues to delay and dither and doesn’t refund the customers.

In Kermanshah and Ardabil, disabled people rallied to protest the regime neglecting their needs. In Kermanshah, the protesters held a large placard that read, “Not implementing the law of disabled people is an insult to human dignity and a violation of human rights.”

According to the regime’s own laws, the government must provide the basic needs of disabled people and provide them with jobs that they can perform. But in effect, they are struggling to make ends meet while regime officials live luxurious lives.

On Saturday, a group of chicken farmers from different cities rallied in front of the Ministry of Agriculture, protesting the regime’s policies that have driven them into bankruptcy and making it impossible for them to purchase feed for their chickens and earn a living from their work.

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