Substitute Teachers Receive Only One Month of Overdue Salaries

Tasnim News Agency reported that on the eve of Nowruz, substitute teachers in the Ministry of Education have only managed to receive one month of the six months of unpaid salaries they are owed. The agency wrote on Friday, March 18, that these teachers, who have not received any salaries since October, have expressed concern over the non-payment of their dues. According to the report, the Ministry of Education deposited one month of their salaries at the end of the year 1394 (March 2016). Mohammad Bat'haei, the Deputy for Management Development and Support at the Ministry of Education, stated that 'because the personnel entered the Ministry of Education as substitute teachers from October, they were not included in our budget.' He added, 'We are working with the Management and Planning Organization to secure part of their claims.' Meanwhile, this same official had announced in Bahman (January) of this year that the debts of substitute teachers would be paid by the end of the fourth week of Bahman. According to a parliamentary resolution, about 15,000 preschool educators and educational service providers have entered the Ministry of Education as substitute teachers since October of this year. Teachers are not the only ones who have not received their overdue salaries and benefits; retirees from the Iranian pension fund also received their salaries on Friday, just one day before the end of the year 1394. Media reported yesterday that salaries for over 1.2 million retirees had not been paid, which Minister of Labor Ali Rabiei announced would be available for withdrawal starting Friday, March 18. In this context, the salaries of thousands of retirees were paid one day before the holiday, while two days before the holiday, the salaries of thousands of retirees were still unpaid.