Protests by Pensioners and Disabled Individuals in Several Cities in Iran

A number of pensioners from social security and the steel industry, along with disabled individuals, gathered on Sunday, July 16, in several cities across Iran. According to images and videos shared on Telegram channels of pensioners' and workers' organizations, the protests took place in Tehran, Rasht, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Shush, and Haft Tapeh. The ILNA news agency noted that the protests coincided with Social Security Day in Iran and reported that pensioners stated: "The reforms in the seventh development plan are anti-labor and must be removed by the representatives of the parliament." The news agency mentioned that during the Tehran protest, pensioners urged parliament members to consider workers' opinions when approving the seventh development bill. In this regard, Alireza Navaei, a labor activist residing in Paris, stated in an interview with Voice of America: "For years, the Islamic Republic governments have been thinking about raising the retirement age and reducing pensioners' salaries based on changing the calculation of pensions from the last two years to five years, but so far they have not succeeded." Mr. Navaei commented on the increase in retirement age, saying that Islamic Republic officials claim that life expectancy is increasing, but "it is enough to pay attention to the health and physical condition of workers after retirement in Iran, who suffer from various diseases because, in addition to their main job, they had to have a second or even third job to make ends meet." Additionally, pensioners participating in the protests on Sunday also expressed their grievances about pensions being below the poverty line and their living conditions, stating that the wage law has not been implemented. On the other hand, pensioners from the steel industry also held a protest in Isfahan on Sunday, demanding improvements in their living conditions and the proper implementation of the wage equalization law. According to some parliament representatives and government officials in recent months, living conditions in Iran have become critical. In this context, Hadi Mousavi Nik, the director of social welfare studies at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, who had his statements published on the "Economic Ninety" website, announced that 57% of Iran's population suffers from malnutrition and do not receive the necessary 2100 calories. The poor economic conditions in Iran have led to an increase in protests by pensioners, workers, teachers, and nurses in recent years. A number of disabled individuals gathered in Tehran in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and in other cities, such as Kermanshah, Ardabil, Kerman, Borujerd, Qom, Mashhad, Qazvin, and Hamadan, in front of the Welfare Organization. According to an ILNA reporter, the protesters were opposing the non-implementation of Article 27 of the Law on the Support of the Disabled. According to this article, the government is obliged to determine the livelihood allowance for severely disabled individuals without jobs and income at the level of the annual minimum wage and allocate the necessary credits in the annual budget laws of the country. ILNA reported that the Law on the Support of the Disabled, which was approved in 2017, lacks the necessary enforcement guarantees. Additionally, the government of Ebrahim Raisi removed the budget line specifically for this law in this year's budget. Meanwhile, according to the Telegram channel of the Campaign for the Rights of Disabled Individuals, Behrouz Marvati, the director of this campaign, stated that "there is no will or hope for the implementation of Article 27 by the Organization for Planning and Budget." Pensioners in various cities of Iran took to the streets again: "Inflation is a disaster for the people" "Both the parliament and the government are lying to the people"; slogans at the pensioners' protest in Kermanshah "This level of injustice has never been seen by a nation"; slogans from pensioners in Kermanshah. The gathering of disabled individuals protesting the non-implementation of the law for the disabled in front of the judiciary. The gathering of state pensioners in several cities in Iran; "Both the parliament and the government - are lying to the people."