Retirement Protest by Government Pensioners in Front of the Budget and Planning Organization

ILNA news agency reported that a number of retirees gathered in front of the Budget and Planning Organization in Tehran on Tuesday, November 8. In this regard, the Free Union of Iranian Workers announced that this gathering would continue with a three-day sit-in. Meanwhile, the Teachers' Trade Association announced on its Telegram channel that this sit-in would continue until Thursday. According to ILNA, various government retirees, including retired teachers and educators, participated in this gathering, which was organized in advance on social media. The retirees stated their demands as 'accurate implementation of pension equalization, enforcement of the country management services law, and expansion of insurance services.' ILNA did not mention the number of participants. At the same time, the Telegram channel of the Free Union of Iranian Workers wrote that the retirees began their 'three-day sit-in' holding placards that read: 'Enough oppression, our table is empty', 'Livelihood, dignity, and health are our legitimate rights', 'The poverty line is 4 million, our salary is 1 million', and 'This level of injustice has never been seen by a nation.' Concurrently with the gathering on Tuesday, the head of the Supreme Association of Retirees and Pensioners of the Social Security Organization announced based on the results of a study that 48% of social security retirees have no insurance or benefits, 52% do not have sufficient income and salaries, and 34% lack adequate healthcare services. Ali-Asghar Bayat said on Tuesday to Mehr News Agency: 'The services that retirees receive from pension funds are unequal, and due to the lack of financial resources of the funds, the quality of services provided to these individuals is decreasing.' Previously, on Tuesday, August 31, hundreds of cultural retirees and other government agency retirees had gathered in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. The state news agency IRNA reported that this gathering was held by military retirees in protest against the non-implementation of a parliamentary resolution regarding the equalization of military retirees' salaries with those of active employees. One of the protesters told IRNA: 'The parliament has a resolution for equalizing military retirees' salaries with those of active employees, but this resolution has not yet been implemented, and the salaries of retirees are much lower than those of active employees.' This gathering was organized by the Retirees' Union group. Reports from the media in Iran indicate dissatisfaction among retirees regarding their welfare and living conditions. Meanwhile, government officials have always promised improvements in their situation while also discussing increases in retirees' pensions. Nevertheless, government critics have expressed doubts about the realization of these promises.