Strike at Saipa; Gatherings of Nurses, Retirees, and Oil Industry Workers in Ahvaz

On Monday, March 6, protests regarding living conditions in Iran continued with a strike by Saipa employees in Kashan and gatherings of nurses and telecommunications retirees in Ahvaz. Additionally, official employees and retirees of the National Iranian South Oil Company protested on Sunday, March 5. According to reports from labor sources on social media on Monday, Saipa employees in Kashan went on strike due to 'dissatisfaction with their salaries and benefits.' The strikers stated in their initial message that their 'minimum salary' is 'between 9 to 10 million tomans, which, including 100 hours of overtime, amounts to about 28 million tomans,' but 'this amount is significantly less than the salaries of Iran Khodro employees.' Furthermore, a group of nurses and administrative and service staff at Arya Hospital in Ahvaz gathered in protest against their 'reduced salaries.' According to the Iranian Retirees Council, 'hospital officials have reduced part of the paid salaries to use it for holiday bonuses' and they were told that 'salaries will return to previous levels in the new year.' Additionally, the protests of telecommunications retirees, which are held weekly on Mondays, took place this week in Ahvaz. The protesting retirees targeted the Executive Headquarters and the Cooperative Foundation of the Revolutionary Guards in their slogans, shouting: 'Promises were nice, but they were all lies' and 'Unity, unity, against oppression and corruption.' Also, official employees and retirees of the National Iranian South Oil Company protested on Sunday, March 5. According to reports from the Telegram channel of the Oil Contract Workers' Protest Organization, official employees of the National Iranian South Oil Company gathered in front of the company's administrative building in Ahvaz to 'pursue their demands,' and when retired forces attempted to enter the premises to join the protesters, government forces 'prevented their entry and closed the company's doors.' Meanwhile, the protesting employees went to the main gate to support the retirees and emphasized 'the necessity of unity and solidarity,' chanting: 'They plundered the fund, they made us destitute.' According to this report, 'removing the salary cap, reforming the minimum wage for new workers, not merging the oil pension fund with other bankrupt funds, completely eliminating the retirement cap, and fully paying years of service, and restoring imposed taxes' are among the demands of these protesters. The expansion of protests among various groups, including retirees, workers from various industries, teachers, defrauded investors, and nurses and healthcare workers, indicates an increase in living problems in Iran and the indifference of the Islamic Republic officials. In light of the growing livelihood crisis for Iranian citizens, economist Siamak Javadi recently told the Persian section of Voice of America that the Islamic Republic is pursuing 'the advancement of Shia ideological goals' and is spending Iran's wealth on 'the Shia community' in the region instead of investing in the country. According to him, the livelihood problems for the people of Iran are 'deliberate' and not due to mismanagement, and 'all policies are against national interests.' Why is inflation not being controlled? The Islamic Republic, as the most indebted economic entity, benefits significantly from the existence of inflation, and the real value of debt is diminishing. Siamak Javadi emphasized that 'the priorities of the Islamic Republic are in Islamic propaganda, religious seminaries, and the repressive apparatus, not in the livelihoods of Iranians.'