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Iran: Two days of widespread protests by outraged retirees

By Mahmoud Hakamian
iran protests government retirees august 22 2023
Protests by government retirees in Iran—August 22, 2023

Retired government employees and employees of the telecom industries held their weekly protest rallies in several cities across the country on Monday and Tuesday, as their lives continue to spiral into poverty as a result of the regime’s destructive policies. Rallies were reported in Mashhad, Kermanshah, Tabriz, Zanjan, Shahrekord, Sanandaj, Urmia, Tehran, Ahvaz, Ilam, Ardebil, Karaj, Semnan, and Poldokhtar.

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.

On Monday, retirees of the telecom industry in Mashhad held their weekly rally in front of the local offices the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) to reiterate their demands for higher pensions and other basic rights.

“We will not stop until we get our rights!” the protesters were chanting.

Their placards read: “The government, Majlis, and judiciary are completely silent in respect to the demands of retirees.” This is a reflection of the role that all three branches of power have played in making the lives of retirees miserable in the past decades.

The protesters are demanding basic needs that they have raised for more than 13 years and the regime has constantly ignored. This includes a law that was passed in 2010 and requires the state-run telecom company to raise the pensions of retirees and provide them with their basic needs.

In Kermanshah, the retirees, who had gathered in front of the offices of the TCI, chanted, “The implementation of the law is our right!”

In Tabriz, the protesters were shouting, “Have some shame and implement the law!”

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 has spiked several fold while pensioners continue to receive the same stipends as before.

In Zanjan, the retirees of the telecom industry were shouting, “What happened to this high-revenue company?”

While the regime is still making immense profits from the telecom industry, very little of it is trickling down to the employees and the retirees of this company. Every new official and government promises to address the problems of the retirees only to renege on their promises.

 

In Sanandaj, the protesters were chanting, “Enough with the promises! Our tables are empty!”

In their protests, the retirees targeted regime authorities, including Majid Soltani, the CEO of the telecom company. Soltani, who took charge of the company in 2020, was previously the head of technology and communications of the repressive State Security Forces (SSF). He is a security figure and looks after the benefit of the regime and the IRGC instead of ensuring the rights of his employees and the retirees of the telecom company.

Another key figure is Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh, the chairman of the board of the telecom company, who is another veteran of the regime’s security apparatus. He has so far reneged on paying the overdue wages of the retirees.

On Tuesday, government retirees held their organized protests in several cities. Like the retirees of the telecom industry and other sectors of the Iranian economy, government retirees have been denied their most basic rights and are frustrated with the government’s destructive policies.

In Ahvaz, protesters held placards that made it clear that they know the regime will not address their problems unless they take matters into their own hands.

Their placards read:

“Rise for your rights retirees!”

“We will only get our rights in the streets!”

In Ardebil, the government retirees gathered in front of the government retirement fund and chanted, “We will not stop until we get our rights!”

One of the recurring themes in these protests is the demand for the regime to implement its own laws. Like the telecom industry, the government retirement fund is subject to several laws that requires the government to adjust the wages of retirees to match the costs of living and the earnings of current employees. But the regime continues to dither on implementing its own rules.

In Karaj, the government retirees were chanting, “One less government embezzlement case and our problems will be solved!” a reference to the endemic corruption that plagues all government institutions, including the retirement funds that are supposed to take care of the people who served the country for decades.

In their protests, the retirees also expressed their support for activists who have been arrested for opposing the regime’s policies.

In Tehran and Kermanshah, protesters were chanting, “Imprisoned teachers must be released!”

Also on Tuesday, the defrauded customers of the state-backed Arvan Khodro carmaker held a protest rally in Tehran.

Arvan Khodro is one of several state-backed vehicle manufacturers that have defrauded their customers by taking down payments and refusing to deliver purchases. In recent weeks, the customers of other carmakers have held similar rallies.

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