Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, July 16, 2020—Retirees and employees of the Iranian regime’s Social Security Organization rallied in different cities on Wednesday outside Social Security Organization offices demanding answers to their long-stated list of demands.
In Tehran, retirees rallied outside the Labor Department and were attacked by security forces and plainclothes agents who intended to disrupt their gathering. However, the retirees withstood these attacks and continued their protest gathering. Authorities had dispatched at least seven vehicles to the site to both arrest the protesting retirees and disrupt the entire rally.
Scenes from a similar retirees’ rally in Mashhad, northeast Iran
In Isfahan, central Iran, employees and retirees of the Social Security Organization rallied for their demands.
Scenes from Tabriz in northwest Iran.
Scenes from the retirees’ protest rally in the city of Arak in Markazi (Central) province, held outside the provincial Social Security Organization branch.
rally in the city of Arak in Markazi (Central) province
In Kermanshah retirees rallied outside the provincial branch of the Social Security Organization. In a symbolic act, the retirees spread empty table cloths to display that they literally have nothing to eat. They also held signs reading, “The empty table of Social Security Organization retirees.”
“We have nothing to eat. We don’t want representatives. Whoever has become our representative has only been thinking about their own interests. We now want to be as one. We should be receiving the paycheck of standard government employees, but we are not,” one protesting retiree said.
Kermanshah: Protest rally of social security retirees in Kermanshah
In Ahvaz, southwest Iran, retirees also held a rally outside the Social Security Organization and chanted, “We don’t want incompetent officials.”
In Karaj, west of Tehran, retirees rallied based on a previous call and were seen chanting:
“We will continue protesting until our demands are met. We will be fighting until the last drop of our blood for our children. Inflation has reached 90 percent! If we don’t come here, where are we to go? The government must pay up what it owes us.”
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In Ilam, western Iran, retirees also held a rally in solidarity with others around the country.
In Ilam, western Iran, retirees also held a rally in solidarity with others around the country.
In Shush, southwest Iran, workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company continued their protest rallies and strike for the 32nd day on Thursday.
Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company workers rallying in Shush, southwest Iran – July 16, 2020
The demands of these protesting workers are:
-immediate paying of their delayed paychecks
-all expelled worker be returned to their jobs and other outstanding matters
On Wednesday a large number of workers rallied outside the local governor’s building and marched to other parts of the city.
