Workers and Nurses Protest Against Occupational and Livelihood Issues in Several Cities in Iran

On Wednesday, March 14, workers and nurses protesting against occupational and livelihood conditions gathered in at least three cities in Iran. According to the Telegram channel 'Afkar-e Naft', a news platform for the demands of official oil industry employees in Iran, dozens of employees from the Aghajari Oil and Gas Operating Company gathered in front of the company's management building to demand attention to their demands. The protesters called for the removal of salary caps, reform of the minimum wage, elimination of retirement benefits restrictions, full implementation of Article 10, and the dismissal of incompetent officials. Protests by the employees of the Aghajari Oil and Gas Operating Company have been ongoing for months. Simultaneously, about 100 workers from the Yazd railway maintenance department protested in front of the provincial governor's office due to the lack of attention to their demands. According to the IRNA news agency, the protesting workers demanded attention to issues such as job security, overdue wages, and lack of supplementary insurance and worker benefits. IRNA reported that the contracting company had asked workers to sign a new contract for the next year without reading its content. The report stated that 400 people are employed in the technical maintenance department of Yazd railway, and this is the second time they have demanded attention to their demands. The minimum wage for workers in the year 1402 was set at about 8 million tomans, while official statistics indicate that the average living cost for people is around 25 to 28 million tomans. Meanwhile, a group of nurses from Beheshti Hospital in Yasuj also gathered in protest of unpaid claims, including bonuses, in the hospital premises. According to the Telegram channel 'Retirees Union Group', the protesting nurses demanded the payment of their overdue tariffs and bonuses. The report indicated that some nurses have not received their bonuses for seven months and their tariffs for a year. The ongoing livelihood and occupational protests of healthcare staff, especially nurses, continue as nursing officials in Iran described the situation of nurses' migration from the country as being at 'crisis level' and warned of the consequences of a shortage of nurses and job dissatisfaction affecting over 90% of nurses in the country. The continuation of livelihood protests in Iran comes as an economic media outlet reported that, according to official data from the government statistics center, the prices of essential goods have increased by between 125% to 290% since the rise of the Raisi government over the past three years. The competition between the poverty line and people's livelihoods; an economist stated that 70% of Iranians are either below the poverty line or at risk of falling into it. Protests over unpaid wages; 400 contract workers at the Marun petrochemical plant in Mahshahr went on strike. Drivers of 'Line 7 BRT System 4' in Tehran went on strike in protest of delays in the payment of year-end bonuses.