Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, December 4, 2020—On Wednesday, December 2, workers of the Iran Poplin factory, a company working in the textile sector in the city of Rasht, northern Iran, held a rally, protesting their two-month delayed paychecks.
“We have not been paid for more than 52 days and the company's workers are living in poor living conditions,’ said one of the protesting workers.
“Company officials are also refusing to deposit a portion of the workers’ insurance premiums to the Social Security Department’s account, while every month they reduce a sum from the workers' wages as insurance premium,” he added.
Protest rally by disabled people in front of the Presidential Palace, Tehran
Protest rally by disabled people in front of the Presidential Palace, Tehran
On Wednesday, which marked the International Day of Disabled Persons, a group of people with disabilities gathered in front of the Presidential Palace in Tehran, protesting poor living conditions and officials’ refusal to implement the law that assigns privileges to disabled people. In this gathering the protesters chanted "Decent living is our inalienable right" and "Disabled people are awake and hate discrimination.”
Protest by municipal workers in Bandar Lengeh
A group of municipal workers in the city of Bandar Lengeh, Hormozgan province, held a rally in front of the office of the city’s Friday prayer leader on Tuesday, December 1. These workers have not been paid for more than four months.
Protest rally by nurses of Sapir Hospital, Tehran
On Tuesday, December 1, the nurses of the Dr. Sapir Hospital in Tehran gathered in front of the hospital, protesting their several-month delayed paychecks.
Chanting slogans, they demanded the resignation of the directors of this medical center. In August, the nurses of this hospital held a similar rally protesting their paychecks being delayed for seven months.
Government officials have made hollow promises to provide financial resources for this medical center. The expenses of Sapir Hospital are provided by charity donations.
On Wednesday, December 2, shop owners in the city of Abyek, Qazvin province, protested increasing municipal taxes. Shop owners of Abyek said that the City Council's decision to increase municipal taxes by more than 1,000 percent in 2021 is illegal and should be repealed altogether.
In videos, the protesters have argued that the decision is illegal and oppressive to the Abyek merchants, and is a form of extortion by the municipality, the city council, and other regime’s enteties.
Protests by steel workers in Ahvaz
Workers of the National Industrial Steel Group in the city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, held a rally, seeking their legitimate rights and protesting officials’ failure to fulfill their promises.
These workers demand their unpaid wages during the covid-19 pandemic, technical rights, bonuses for working a severe weather condition, and transparency in employment. They also protested the lack of approval and boycott of job positions and titles, non-observance of justice and fairness, and discrimination in overtime work benefits and rewards, lack of plans to import raw materials and increase in production capacity, the inefficiency of new insurance and drug payments, and also the low wages of Shafaq company workers.
It is worth noting that workers are required pay the medical fees, despite supposedly having insurance.
Protest by unpaid soldiers
On Wednesday, a group of conscripts in one of the country's garrisons protested not receiving their meager salary.
These conscripts say that their salary is very low and not enough to cover their basic needs. According to the head of the military staff, soldiers are paid only 13 percent of the approved salary. This salary does not even cover their daily necessities and commute fare to their place of service.
“Currently, the average salary of conscript in the Armed Forces in Iran is 4.8 million rials (about $16),” said Gholamreza Rahimi, the Head of the Human Resources Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
