Ongoing Weekly Protests by Telecommunications Retirees: Government's Empty Promises

On Monday, April 29, retirees of the Telecommunications Company took to the streets in several provinces of Iran, including Tehran, Isfahan, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, Ardabil, and Kurdistan, to protest their living conditions. In Tehran, a group of retirees carried protest placards and chanted slogans such as "The major shareholder has taken our rights," "The Executive Headquarters has taken our rights," and "Instead of a working man, a military man is sitting." In Sanandaj, retirees carried placards with slogans like "The boastful government, where are your promises?" "Telecommunications, have some shame, fulfill your promises," and "Implementing the regulations without any cuts is our undeniable right." In Ardabil, retirees shouted slogans such as "Retiree, shout out, demand your rights," "What has happened to the profitable company?" and "The retiree's ship has sunk in the mud." In Kermanshah, protesting retirees chanted slogans like "Our rights can only be obtained on the streets" and "Livelihood, food, is our undeniable right." In Ahvaz, retirees carried placards stating "Protest gathering is our undeniable right." Images shared on social media indicate that retirees in the cities of Tabriz and Urmia also held protest gatherings, demanding attention to their professional demands. The lack of updates to welfare allowances in 2022 and 2023, management's disregard for Regulation 89, issues with supplementary insurance, and non-payment of past claims at current rates are among the reasons for the protests by the retirees. The executive regulation of Article 24 of the Civil Service Law, passed in 2010, concerns the assignable duties and how to purchase services from the private sector, stating that "until the obstacles to assignment are removed," the provision of services to the workforce remains the responsibility of the executive body, i.e., the government. However, 13 years after the approval of this regulation, and considering the repeated and ongoing protests of these retirees, it seems that neither the "obstacles to assignment" have been removed nor has the executive body fulfilled its duties towards the protesters. The continuation of livelihood protests in Iran occurs amid rising fluctuations in foreign currency rates and gold and coin prices in the Iranian market. Meanwhile, the head of the Urban Development and Transportation Commission of the Tehran City Council has announced that the prices of metro tickets, buses, and taxi fares have increased by up to 45% since the beginning of April, and reports indicate that the Islamic Republic government has recorded the highest rent increase in the history of official data. In recent days, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran has claimed that indicators show "economic growth," but an analyst in an interview with VOA emphasized the poor living conditions of the people, accusing Ebrahim Raisi's government of "sophistry in data analysis," preventing the publication of statistics, and resorting to "promoting pseudoscience." Furthermore, citizens' statements inside Iran in conversations with VOA are significantly distant from the government's slogans.