Protest Gathering of 'Yellow Vests' in Front of the Organization for Employment Affairs

Iranian media reported on a protest gathering of 'Yellow Vests' in front of the Organization for Employment Affairs due to the delay in the job classification plan. According to the ILNA news agency, a group of operators from high-voltage power posts across the country coordinated their protest in front of the Organization for Employment Affairs. Following this protest, they demanded the approval and implementation of the job classification plan, which they claim has been pending since 2020 and has not been approved. According to the protesters, the lack of approval for this plan has left 9,000 workers in the Ministry of Energy and Electricity without clear status. Additionally, the failure to approve this plan has resulted in individuals with bachelor's degrees and higher receiving salaries equivalent to those with lower educational qualifications. Protests against the non-implementation of the job classification plan have been a recurring labor issue in various cities, with workers from the Technical Construction Workers of Doroud also protesting on December 20. Workers from the Isfahan Steel Company held protests and strikes on December 11 and 12 regarding this issue and the state of wages. Reports indicate that employees of the Ahvaz Rolling and Pipe Company also gathered on December 5 in protest of the non-implementation of the job classification plan and their low wages and benefits. According to the job classification plan, employees should receive job group and seniority wages based on the conditions specified in their job identification. The plan assigns a coefficient of one for the simplest job, with more complex jobs receiving higher coefficients based on required skills. Moreover, as an individual's experience increases, their job group rises, meaning they should receive a higher percentage of wages compared to the simplest job. In recent years, worker protests in various regions of Iran have expanded through strikes, gatherings, and marches. In this context, the government has attempted to prevent these protests by intensifying security and judicial crackdowns, but these measures have not been successful. With the increase in livelihood protests in Iran, several economists, including Masoud Nili, Davood Soori, and Zahra Kavyani, have criticized the economic governance of the Islamic Republic over the past four decades, attributing the rise in the population below the poverty line in Iran to it. Additionally, Farshad Momeni, an economist, has stated based on 'official data' that nearly one in three Iranians is 'absolutely poor,' and for the first time in 100 years, the population of the poor in Iran is doubling in less than three years. Furthermore, Jamshid Asadi, an economist, predicted in an interview with Voice of America that the budget plan for the year 1403 will lead to further poverty and increased inflation in Iran.