Protests by Pensioners in Several Cities: Arrears from Adjustment Must Be Paid

Social Security pensioners held rallies and protests in several cities across Iran on Sunday, voicing their grievances about their living conditions and the indifference of the Islamic Republic officials. According to pensioner and labor organizations, the protests took place in the cities of Shush, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kerman, and Shushtar. In the protest in Shush, some family members of the pensioners also participated. Social Security pensioners have been holding weekly protests on Sundays for months, referred to as 'Protest Sundays.' Meanwhile, ILNA news agency quoted Fereydoun Nikouford, a retired worker in Shush, stating that the main demand of the protest on Sunday was 'to protest the implementation of the remaining adjustments and the non-application of last year's increase coefficient.' He stated that the arrears from the adjustments of the last two years must be paid to the pensioners. According to Mr. Nikouford, another demand of the Social Security pensioners is the inadequacy of the salary increase this year, which has risen between 21 to 27 percent despite heavy inflation. Faramarz Tofighi, a former member of the Supreme Labor Council, recently told ILNA that the cost of living has reached 21 million tomans per month. In his interview with ILNA, Fereydoun Nikouford also mentioned the independence of the Workers' Welfare Bank, improvement of welfare services, and provision of free medical treatment as other demands of the Social Security pensioners. The Free Workers' Union of Iran also reported that pensioners from the Alborz Steel Complex protested on Sunday due to unmet professional demands. This labor organization did not provide details about their demands. On Saturday, a number of oil company pensioners in Ahvaz and Isfahan also held a protest, calling for the annulment of the oil pension fund's charter, which was changed years ago by government decision to the detriment of oil company pensioners. Since then, oil pensioners have repeatedly protested against government actions. Under the new charter, the board of trustees of the fund, appointed by the government, controls the resources of this fund, which is formed from the contributions of oil workers, and can lend these funds to various organizations and institutions at their discretion. Meanwhile, following the continuation and expansion of protests by telecommunications pensioners, Nasrollah Pejmanfar, the head of the Parliament's Article 90 Commission, referred in a tweet to a special meeting of this commission with the Minister of Communications. He wrote: According to the promises of telecommunications managers, it was decided that 'starting next month, the overdue welfare benefits of telecommunications pensioners will be paid monthly. Additionally, claims of dear telecommunications pensioners will be paid from the sale of surplus assets.' 'The pensioners' table is emptier than ever'; a slogan of Social Security pensioners in Ahvaz. Protests by pensioners in at least 13 cities in Iran; preventing the holding of a gathering in Tehran. 'Promises are enough; we do not have the lifespan of Noah'; a slogan of telecommunications pensioners in Tabriz. 'Promises are enough; our table is empty'; displaying an empty table at the telecommunications pensioners' protest in Ahvaz. Telecommunications pensioners protested in 16 cities; security forces prevented gatherings in Tehran.