Continued Strikes and Protests by Workers, Teachers, and Retirees

Workers, teachers, retirees, and administrative staff staged strikes and protests on Tuesday, October 3, emphasizing their occupational and livelihood demands in several locations across Iran. According to ILNA news agency, workers at the Tarzeh coal mine of the Alborz Sharghi Company in Semnan province went on strike for the second consecutive day. ILNA reported that the protesters' demands included correcting unrealistic job titles for contract workers on insurance lists, eliminating contractors, and resolving insurance issues. The report stated that contract workers announced they would continue their protests until they received a definitive response from officials. In addition to livelihood and occupational issues, workers and miners in Iran are also grappling with the problem of unsafe working conditions. Following an explosion at the 'Madan-Juy' coal mine in Tabas on Saturday evening, September 31, Red Crescent officials reported that 51 people were killed and 20 injured. Last September, a similar explosion at one of the Tarzeh mines in Damghan resulted in at least six deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, workers at South Pars have gathered for the eighth consecutive week, reiterating their demands, which include the reinstatement of Hojjat Rezaei, the dismissed representative of the workers, implementation of previous agreements regarding entitled leave and payment of camp fees, proper execution of job classification plans, changes to the conditions of transit and wages for contract drivers, and non-discriminatory implementation of a 14 days on, 14 days off work schedule for administrative and support workers. According to ILNA, about 300 workers from the petrochemical terminals and tanks in Mahshahr have also been on strike and gathered for the sixth consecutive day. The workers are protesting the 'failure to convert status', 'failure to implement job classification plans', 'lack of job security', and 'issues with workers' insurance payments'. ILNA reported that a protesting worker stated that contract workers at this petrochemical complex are also protesting discrimination between them and permanent and contractual staff. This protesting worker mentioned that the employer of the petrochemical terminals and tanks in Mahshahr is unwilling to fulfill its commitments to the workers. Simultaneously, literacy teachers gathered in front of the Iranian Parliament building in Tehran. According to the 'Civil Protest Market' news channel, the protesters carried banners from the provinces of Fars, Qom, and Gilan. Official telecommunications employees in Tabriz, Ardabil, and Tehran also protested for the second consecutive day against 'delays and disorganization in salary payments', 'illegal blocking of welfare subsidies', and 'suspension of holiday allowances'. A group of state retirees in Kermanshah province also held a protest in front of the provincial retirement fund. At the same time, some employees in the Sistan and Baluchestan region protested against 'delays in receiving salaries for August and September, holiday bonuses, and previous years' severance pay'. Amid the worsening economic situation in Iran, protests and strikes by occupational and labor groups have increased. The livelihood protests of various groups, including retirees, workers from various industries, teachers, investors, and healthcare workers, are expanding while the political deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in its publication to 'relevant ministries related to the market and economy' that they 'must prepare for a war economy'. Heavy vehicle drivers protested in front of the governor's office in Zahedan against the blocking of their fuel cards. Families of the victims in Tabas stated that workers were 'sent to the mine under threat'. Protests by telecommunications retirees and oil and gas industry workers have been held in several provinces of Iran, and retirees protesting in the steel and social security industries took to the streets in five provinces.