Thousands of Teachers Held 'Silent Gatherings' in Various Cities Across Iran

Reports indicate that 'thousands' of teachers held 'silent gatherings' on Thursday morning, May 6, in various cities across Iran, in protest against 'unfair wages', at the invitation of the Iranian Teachers' Trade Association. According to ILNA news agency, protesting teachers gathered in cities including Sanandaj, Hamadan, Bandar Abbas, Ilam, Zanjan, Kermanshah, Borujerd, Sabzevar, Damghan, Tabriz, Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Qazvin, Rasht, Arak, Shahr-e Kord, Ardabil, Zabol, Borujerd, Bushehr, Dehdasht, and Kuhdasht. The news agency reported that around three thousand teachers gathered in front of the Iranian Parliament building in Tehran, noting a 'large' presence of security forces at the gathering. The silent gatherings were mostly held in front of education departments in various cities. ILNA also reported that 'a supervisory body' summoned several teacher union activists and allowed them to return home only on the condition that they promised not to participate in the nationwide gathering that day. This comes despite President Hassan Rouhani stating on May 3 that the government recognizes the right to protest for 'all sectors and professions'. He emphasized, 'We recognize the right to protest for teachers as well... We know they have problems, and they know we have problems too.' Following teachers' gatherings on January 19 and 20, 2015, the Teachers' Trade Association reported instances of 'intimidation by school administrators and the summoning and threatening of some teachers by the Education Ministry's security'. Meanwhile, Alireza Hashemi, Secretary-General of the Iranian Teachers' Organization, was arrested on April 19 to serve a five-year prison sentence. Hashemi had been sentenced in 2010 on security charges. According to ILNA, many of the placards carried by teachers during the Thursday gatherings demanded 'improved living conditions, the freedom of imprisoned teachers, and the resignation of the Minister of Education'. The report stated that teachers held banners with slogans such as 'The poverty line is three million, our salary is one million', 'We might endure poverty, but we will never tolerate inequality', 'Freedom for imprisoned teachers, Badaghi, Bagheri, and Hashemi', 'Incompetent minister, resign resign', 'Teachers should elect school administrators', 'Teachers shout, media censors', and 'This gathering is completely professional and non-political'. In recent months, many teachers in Iran have repeatedly held protests. For instance, numerous teachers gathered in various cities on April 16 in protest against their living conditions and the policies of the Ministry of Education. ILNA previously mentioned that the implementation of the ranking plan was among the grievances of teachers, who believe this plan exacerbates existing inequalities. However, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, head of the Management and Planning Organization, described the implementation of the teachers' ranking plan on Thursday as a move 'toward meritocracy' among them, announcing that this plan would be implemented starting in October. According to Nobakht, an additional 1350 billion tomans would be allocated for this plan over the current budget of the Ministry of Education, which is 24 trillion tomans. The Minister of Education also promised in recent months to work on resolving teachers' living issues. Ali Asghar Fani, however, pointed out that 'given the current economic problems, addressing teachers' issues will take time' and called for teachers' restraint.