Protests Over Livelihoods by Telecommunications Retirees in 10 Provinces; Fuel Carriers Gather in Saravan and MPS Patients in Tehran

Protests over livelihoods by various groups in Iran continued on Tuesday, March 12, with gatherings of telecommunications retirees in at least 10 provinces, fuel carriers in Saravan, and MPS patients in Tehran. According to reports received by Voice of America and shared on social media, a number of retirees from the telecommunications company gathered on Tuesday in several provinces including Tehran, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Lorestan, East Azerbaijan, Gilan, Isfahan, Hormozgan, and Markazi. This marks the 55th consecutive gathering of telecommunications retirees, which is held weekly on Tuesdays in various cities across Iran. The protesting retirees chanted slogans such as "Implementation of the regulations, without any reduction, is our legitimate right," "What happened to the profitable company?", "The retired ship is now stuck in the mud," "Enough promises, our table is empty," "Livelihood and food must be updated," and "Unity against oppression and corruption." The reasons for the protests include the lack of updates to welfare allowances in the years 2021 and 2022, management's disregard for Regulation 89, issues with supplementary insurance, and the failure to pay past claims at current rates. The executive regulation of Article 24 of the Civil Service Law, passed in 2010, concerns assignable duties and how to purchase services from the private sector, which states 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, after 13 years since the approval of this regulation, and given the continuous and repeated 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. Protests by retirees in Iran resumed in the early hours of this year and have continued in various cities on different days of the week. Telecommunications retirees have taken to the streets on Tuesdays as "Protest Tuesdays." Additionally, a group of nurses and healthcare workers in Shiraz gathered in front of the Fars governorate and chanted: "We who are symbols of patience, our patience has run out." Protests by nurses also took place on Sunday in Bushehr. Simultaneously with the retirees' protests in several provinces, a number of fuel carriers gathered in front of the Saravan governorate building in Sistan and Baluchestan province. According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, during this protest, two of them were "violently" arrested. The report states that the gathering of these citizens "turned violent following the presence of military forces, and two fuel carriers were arrested by military forces." Alongside the fuel carriers' gathering in Saravan, diesel vehicle drivers also protested against the "reduction of fuel quotas" in Iranshahr. The protests over livelihoods on Tuesday, March 12, were not limited to retirees and fuel carriers; another gathering was held by MPS patients and their families in front of the Ministry of Health in Tehran. The "Campaign for the Disabled" account on X announced that this gathering was in protest of the "failure to provide medications" for these patients. Mucopolysaccharidosis, known as MPS, is a type of "metabolic genetic" disease and is among the rare diseases. The protesting patients held placards stating that "there has been no medication for three months" and "MPS patients have no medicine." They emphasized that "being alive is our right" and called on officials to ensure timely provision of medication to preserve their right to life. The continuation of livelihood protests in Iran comes as an economic media outlet reported that, based on official data from the Statistical Center of Iran, the prices of essential goods have increased by 125 to 290 percent since the current government took office three years ago. According to the Tehran Islamic Councils' Association, the livelihood basket for a four-member working family is estimated at 32 million and 850 thousand tomans.