Continued Sit-in of Farmers in Isfahan; School Custodians Gather in Protest Against Salaries Below 10 Million Tomans

On Monday, April 15, protests over living conditions in Iran continued with gatherings of farmers in Isfahan province and school custodians in Khomeini Shahr. According to labor sources, a group of farmers from eastern and western Isfahan once again gathered at the Khorasgan Square in protest against the unfulfilled promises of officials regarding the reopening of the Zayandeh Rud river. The protesting farmers parked their tractors at Khorasgan Square and staged a sit-in, a trend that has been seen in recent days. Some sources attribute this round of protests by farmers to the 'usurpation of their water rights' by 'government institutions.' In the city of Varzaneh in Isfahan province, protesting farmers lined up their tractors in protest against the violation of their water rights and 'in hope of a permanent water supply.' According to images published on the Telegram channel of Civil Market Protests, a group of service workers and custodians from the education sector in district five of Isfahan and Khomeini Shahr gathered on Monday to protest their living conditions. The gathering of education service workers was in protest against 'salaries below the poverty line' amounting to less than '10 million tomans' and 'empty tables and hollow promises.' Additionally, the Telegram channel of the Iranian Retirees Council reported that 'about 10,000 retired teachers,' mostly 'cultural retirees of 1400,' gathered in front of the Organization of Planning and Budget on the morning of Sunday, April 14. This round of teachers' protests, which according to the report 'will continue,' has demands including 'prompt payment of bonuses that have been delayed for 31 months,' 'adjustment of their retirement salaries based on Article 1 of the executive instruction for the proportional adjustment of retirement salaries based on 90% of the ranking decree,' 'prompt payment of 30 months of retirement salary arrears from October 2021 to March 2023,' and 'payment of ranking arrears related to the time of employment that has been overdue for more than two years.' The report emphasizes that 'these retirees insist on their rights and demand quick correction' of them, and officials from the Organization of Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Education, and the National Retirement Organization have promised that 'the issues of these retired educators will be resolved as quickly as possible.' Another report from Rafsanjan indicates that the residents of the village of 'Abbasabad Haji' gathered in protest against their welfare conditions, including 'the deplorable state of the asphalt leading to this village.' Additionally, on Sunday, living condition protests were ongoing in Iran. For instance, according to the Iranian Retirees Council, in Qazvin, a large number of victims of the 'Taravat Novin Reyhan Tak' company marched through the central streets of the city, chanting 'Corrupt prosecutor, we don't want you, we don't want you,' demanding the dismissal of Hossein Rajabi, the prosecutor of Qazvin. The Telegram channel of the Free Union of Workers of Iran reported that retirees of the Social Security Organization in this city gathered and marched in front of the building of this organization in protest against 'poor living conditions and unfulfilled demands.' Fluctuations in the currency and gold markets in recent days have exacerbated workers' living concerns. Meanwhile, an inspector from the Supreme Assembly of Workers' Representatives stated that even without these developments, a 35% wage increase had no impact on people's purchasing power. Previous reports indicated that the dollar value of wages in Iran fell from $136 in the first week of Farvardin to $119 in the last week of Farvardin. In recent days, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran claimed that indicators show 'economic growth,' but an analyst in an interview with VOA accused Ebrahim Raisi's government of 'sophistry in data analysis,' preventing the publication of statistics, and resorting to 'the promotion of pseudoscience.'