Economic Protests in 7 Provinces of Iran; Telecommunications Retirees: Neither Parliament nor Government Care for the People

Economic protests resumed in Iran on Monday, August 8, with a group of retirees from the telecommunications company emphasizing in their slogans that "neither Parliament nor Government care for the people." Simultaneously, defrauded vehicle voucher holders of "Modiran Khodro" gathered in Tehran, a number of workers from the Shadgan Steel Company in Khuzestan protested, and a group of educators held a protest in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. According to reports received by VOA and published on social media on Monday, August 8, the economic protests of telecommunications retirees have taken place in at least Isfahan, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and East Azerbaijan provinces. Retirees in Isfahan chanted: "Implementation of equalization, without trickery." They also protested on the first day of Masoud Pezeshkian's term as the 14th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, against the "injustice of major shareholders" identified as the "Executive Headquarters and the Foundation of the IRGC Cooperation," chanting: "Neither Parliament nor Government care for the people." Similar protests were held by retirees in Kermanshah, who chanted: "The Executive Headquarters has taken our rights." In Kurdistan, protesting retirees shouted: "Retiree, shout out, demand your rights." A group of telecommunications retirees in Tabriz also joined this weekly protest holding placards. The economic protests of telecommunications retirees have been ongoing for months. The lack of updates to welfare allowances in 2022 and 2023, management's disregard for Regulation 89, issues with supplementary insurance, and the failure to pay past claims at current rates are among the reasons for these retirees' protests. The executive regulation of Article 24 of the Civil Service Law, passed in 2010, concerns the assignable duties and how to purchase services from the private sector, stating that "until the obstacles to assignment are removed," the provision of services to the workforce remains the responsibility of the executive body, i.e., the government. However, 13 years after the approval of this regulation, and considering the repeated and ongoing protests of these retirees, it seems that neither the "obstacles to assignment" have been removed nor has the executive body fulfilled its duties towards the protesters. In another event, a number of registrants and voucher holders of "Modiran Khodro" protested against the "non-delivery of registered vehicles" in front of the company's headquarters in Tehran on Monday. These protesters say they have been registered for "over five months" but despite having received vehicle documents, including the green card and even the fuel card, they still have not received their vehicle. Additionally, on the same day, educators involved in the "524-unit National Housing Project of Manzariyeh, Neighborhood 40" in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari protested against the unfulfilled promises of responsible officials. According to the Telegram channel "Civil Market Protest," these protesters, who registered for this project in 2019, claim: "After all these promises made to homeless educators, they have only achieved 20% progress." On the same day, a group of workers from the Shadgan Steel Company in Khuzestan, who have "been laid off due to the suspension of the second phase project," gathered in front of the Shadgan Steel building. The expansion of protests among various groups, including retirees, workers from different industries, teachers, defrauded individuals, and healthcare workers, indicates an increase in economic problems in Iran and the indifference of Islamic Republic officials. Jamshid Asadi, an economist, previously predicted in an interview with VOA that the economic situation and living conditions would worsen. The reduction of the education budget coinciding with over 900,000 children dropping out of school, the holding of economic protests in at least eight cities in Iran, fewer marriages and more divorces; experts attribute the roots of separations in Iran to "inability to meet the minimum living standards," and the strike of thousands of project oil workers has entered its second month.