August 09, 2019
While most political protests appear to have faded away in the past several months, teachers are one group that is not stopping.
Hundreds of retired teachers held Tehran rallies July 27 and 28, in front of the Majlis, Education Ministry and offices of the Plan and Budget Organization (PBO), to demand more pay.
Radio Farda said the enraged pensioners chanted, “Teachers Die, But Will Never Accept Abjection!” and “We Will Not Step Back Until Receiving Our Bonuses!”
A deputy serving on the Majlis Education Committee, Mohammad-Javad Abtahi, announced that the Ministry of Education had promised to make bonus payments before the end of the summer. These payments are meant to partially compensate teachers and retirees for the high rate of inflation.
Active and retired teachers have held numerous protest demonstrations over the years demanding better pay. Teachers are among the lowest paid government employees. They have largely been ignored and several activist teachers have been arrested and sentenced to prison terms.
On May 2, thousands of educators, celebrating National Teachers Day, rallied in front of the Education Department offices in at least 13 provinces to protest lack of government attention to their demands.
The Teachers’ Coordinating Council of Iran (TCCI) said at the time that security forces arrested dozens of teachers for participating in the protests.
According to TCCI’s resolution read at the end of the May 2 rally in Tehran, Iranian teachers were deeply unhappy with living “below the poverty line,” and the minimal pensions paid to retired educators.
The resolution also criticized the security forces for hindering attempts to launch an independent teachers’ trade union, while keeping several teachers’ rights activists, including a board member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), Esmail Abdi, behind bars.
According to Amnesty International, since May 2018 the Islamic Republic security forces have detained two dozen active and retired teachers.