Retirees of Telecommunications Protest in at Least 5 Provinces of Iran; Nurses in Yazd Go on Strike

Protests by retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran were held on Monday, August 22, in at least five provinces. Simultaneously, nurses and healthcare staff in hospitals, including those in Yazd, were on strike. According to reports received by Voice of America and shared on social media, the weekly protests by telecommunications retirees, which continue every Monday, took place today in the provinces of Gilan, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah. Retired protesters in Rasht, the capital of Gilan province, chanted: 'We have seen no justice, because we have heard so many lies.' Some retirees in Khuzestan called on attendees to join the protesters, shouting: 'We want men of action, not spectators.' Retirees in Isfahan demanded that officials adhere to regulations, chanting: 'Telecommunications, have some shame, implement the regulations.' 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, 14 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 the protests of telecommunications retirees in Kurdistan, the protesters chanted: 'Shame on you, oppressive shareholder.' Retired protesters in Kermanshah also shouted: 'Shame on you, shareholder, fulfill our rights.' The weekly protests by telecommunications retirees have been ongoing for months. The lack of updates to welfare allowances in the years 2021 and 2022, the management's disregard for the 89 regulations, issues with supplementary insurance, and the non-payment of past claims at current rates are among the reasons for these retirees' protests. Concurrently with the weekly protests of telecommunications retirees, reports indicate the continuation of strikes and protests by nurses in 15 hospitals across various cities in Iran. Specifically, nurses and healthcare staff from three hospitals in Yazd went on strike on Monday, August 22, protesting their living conditions and low wages. According to reports from Iranian media, nurses in nine hospitals in Shiraz are still on strike, and in Karaj, staff from one hospital have stopped working in protest against 'mandatory overtime, non-implementation of laws, low wages, hard work, and insults and threats.' With the nurses' strike, various sections of these hospitals, including operating rooms, have been shut down. Additionally, on the seventh day of the nurses' strike in Shiraz, threats of legal action and dismissal were reported, along with the 'deployment of military nurses' to hospitals. The sixth day of the strike in Shiraz saw nurses from public hospitals in several cities gather. The slogans of protesting retirees in Tehran and Kermanshah included: 'Shout, shout, against all this injustice.' The protests of nurses, workers, teachers, and truck drivers continue; telecommunications retirees gathered in nine provinces. Thousands of project workers in oil regions are still on strike. A labor activist stated that the wage gap between retirees and the poverty line exceeds 20 million tomans.