Teachers' Trade Union: Increased Salaries and Effective Health Insurance for Retirees is Their Right

On Saturday, January 2, the Iranian Teachers' Trade Union issued a statement supporting all retirees in Iran, demanding the "realization of rights" for this segment of society, an increase in their salaries to be on par with active employees, and effective supplementary health insurance for all retirees. The teachers' union stated: "In the dual structure of the political system of the Islamic Republic, the heavy weight of resource distribution, even within the framework of state resources, leans more towards non-elected institutions that receive large budgets from the government every year but do not report their financial performance to the government, are not required to pay taxes, and are not subject to auditing." The statement referred to the "unaccountable" institutions and organizations under the leadership of the Islamic Republic, such as the Foundation of the Oppressed and Astan Quds, noting: "It is surprising that the issue of resource shortages for increasing the budgets of these institutions is never raised, but when it comes to paying the legal rights of retirees, after a delay of more than a decade, the government spokesperson shamelessly announces that they will accept to pay part of the retirees' legal rights only if there is a one percent increase in taxes." The Iranian Teachers' Trade Union questioned why, if the claim of increasing taxes to secure resources for paying retirees is true, all income from this one percent increase is not allocated to retirees. They addressed the government: "Why are you trying to impose additional pressure on all segments of the nation in a year when you have increased the tax share in the budget, in the economic crisis you have created, taking money from the pockets of both active and retired workers, and then attributing the expenditure to retirees?" The union further noted that the government and its spokesperson make no mention of their hundreds of trillions of tomans debt to the pension fund. The Iranian Teachers' Trade Union expressed full support for the legal rights of retirees and their right to protest through legal gatherings, urging the government and parliament to finally act to fully meet the retirees' demands "without advertising tricks and lies." The statement emphasized the necessity of implementing Article 64 of the Management Services Law and stated that the government and parliament must "extend any salary increases for active employees to retirees, provide effective health insurance and supplementary health insurance for this segment of society according to Article 85 of the Management Services Law, and act based on Article 125 of the Management Services Law regarding annual salary increases according to the real inflation rate announced by the Central Bank." In recent years, civil retirees, including retired educators, along with retirees from social security, telecommunications, and steel, have repeatedly held protests against their difficult living conditions and those of their families. The government's new promise; the arrears of "adjustment" for teachers and retirees will be paid in installments. A union activist: The government has harmed workers' purchasing power by circumventing Article 41 of the Labor Law. The amount of salary increase for retirees in the year 1403; the parliamentary commission reduced it by two percent. The slogans of protesting retirees in several cities in Iran: "Hosseini, Hosseini, their slogan, lies and theft are their work." Protests by telecommunications retirees in at least 13 provinces: "We have seen no justice, we will not vote for the parliament."