Labor strikes—especially among Iran’s underpaid teachers—appear to have flourished this winter, but are getting only small coverage in the media.
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), teachers in the cities of Marivan, Baneh, and Shahrud, have refused to attend class since January 20 to protest wages that are below the official poverty line.
ICHRI said schoolteachers in several other Iranian cities ended a two-day protest January 21. Teachers from cities including Robat Karim, Karaj, Shahr-e Qods, Shariar, Semnan, Saghez and Islam Shahr have participated in the strikes.
Last month, striking teachers sent a letter containing some 6,000 signatures to Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani stating their demands for their salaries to be raised at least to the poverty line. The teachers have yet to hear back from Larijani, ICHRI said.
“The teachers are concerned about the rumored 14 percent salary increase in the upcoming year,” which would be less than the rate of inflation in the past year, one labor activist told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA).
This activist also objected to the proposed budget for education in the Persian year beginning next Now Ruz. “While the budget for certain institutions has increased more than 60 percent for the upcoming year, it is not clear what kind of justification the government has for a budget increase of merely 20 percent for education,” the labor activist said.
Majlis Deputy Saeed Zamanian said the poverty line is now defined at roughly 20 million rials per month (about $570) while most teachers earn less than 13 million rials ($370) a month or a third less than what the state rules to be a poverty-level wage.
Other workers are also reportedly striking in large numbers with the main issues being the failure to pay back wages, layoffs and, like the teachers, raises that keep them below the poverty line.
ILNA said that between January 20 and January 29, at least seven labor protests took place in different cities, not counting the many teacher protests. It described the following protests.
Khatunabad Copper Co.
More than 200 workers from the Khatunabad Copper Company’s subsidiaries gathered with their families for three consecutive days in front of the Shahr-e Babak Governor’s Office in Kerman Province between January 27 and 29. The workers were protesting a job examination in the Khatunabad Copper Industrial Complex, which they believe threatens their job security. The workers fear that the employer is introducing the examination as a way to eliminate contract workers who have worked in the complex for four years with the hope of one day becoming regular employees, one worker told ILNA.
Varamin Sugar Company
Two hundred Varamin Sugar Company workers protested the closure of the company and their loss of jobs January 28.
Northern Anomali Mine
On January 28, thirty mine-workers from the Northern Anomali Mine in Bafq protested their dismissal by gathering in front of the Central Iron Ore Mine in the town. The workers demanded to be hired in the mine.
Parsylon Thread Company
More than 70 retired Parsylon Thread Company workers gathered in front of the Lorestan Province Governor’s Office in Khorramabad on January 28. The workers, who retired between 2012 and 2014, are still owed back pay from 2008 to 2011.
Mehriz Tejarat Cement Co.
Workers from the Mehriz Tejarat Cement Company stopped work on January 26 and 27 to protest ill treatment by factory managers, and to demand the managers’ dismissal.
Ahvaz Water Company
A group of contract workers from the Ahvaz Water and Wastewater Company gathered January 27 to protest non-payment of four months’ wages and the employer’s share of their insurance. The Water Company’s managing director appeared at the protest and promised partial payment of the outstanding wages over the coming days.
Tazreh Mine Workers
On January 25 and 26, 1,400 workers from Tazreh Mine in Semnan province gathered in the mine and stopped work to protest three months of back wages owed to them and the company’s failure to pay their insurance dues. The Shahrud Governor promised the workers that they will receive their back pay within the next 10 days, but the protesting workers told ILNA they had been given similar promises before.