Protests by Telecommunications Retirees in Several Provinces of Iran; What Happened to the Profitable Company?

A group of retirees from the telecommunications company staged simultaneous protests on Monday, April 22, in several provinces including Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Ardabil, Gilan, and Kermanshah. According to reports received by Voice of America and published on social media, retirees in Tehran marched in protest against the neglect of their demands, gathering in front of the central building of the telecommunications company and chanting: "Implementing the regulations is our undeniable right." In Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province, retirees protested against their living conditions and the lack of attention to their professional demands, chanting: "What happened to you, profitable company?" In Kurdistan province, retirees took to the streets with the slogan: "Incompetent minister, shame on you!" In Kermanshah, protesters shouted: "Our shame, our state media," in reference to the silence of this media organization under the control of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. In Rasht, the capital of Gilan province, protesting retirees chanted: "The major shareholder has eaten our rights." In Ardabil, retirees demanded the "implementation of the regulations" of Article 24 of the Civil Service Law. The protests were driven by issues such as the lack of updates to welfare allowances in 2021 and 2022, management's disregard for Regulation 89, problems with supplementary insurance, and unpaid claims from previous years at current rates. 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 barriers to assignment are removed," the provision of services to the workforce remains the responsibility of the executive agency, namely the government. However, 13 years after the approval of this regulation, and in light of the continuous protests from these retirees, it seems that neither the "barriers to assignment" have been removed nor has the executive agency fulfilled its duties towards the protesters. The continuation of livelihood protests in Iran comes 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 announced that the prices of metro, bus tickets, and taxi fares would increase by up to 45% from the first day 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 claimed that indicators show "economic growth," but an analyst, in an interview with Voice of America, accused Ebrahim Raisi's government of "sophistry in data analysis," preventing the publication of statistics, and resorting to "promoting pseudoscience." Citizens in Iran began the year 1403 with a new economic shock: an increase of more than three percent in the price of the dollar; a rising trend that, although not new, adds additional pressure to the holiday expenses of Iranian families. Nevertheless, the leader and the President of the Islamic Republic in their New Year messages paid little attention to the level of inflation and the dire living conditions, deeming the country's economic situation hopeful and naming the upcoming year as a year of production leap with public participation. Meanwhile, the statements of citizens inside Iran in conversations with Voice of America are far removed from the slogans of the government.