Telecommunications Retirees Protest in at Least 20 Cities

A group of retirees from the telecommunications company continued their protests over livelihood and professional issues by holding gatherings in at least 20 cities across Iran in front of telecommunications buildings. According to the 'Retirees' Organizations' channel on Tuesday, November 6, these gatherings took place in cities including Shiraz, Zanjan, Tehran, Bandar Abbas, Qazvin, Zahedan, Sari, Tabriz, Khorramabad, Arak, Yasuj, Rasht, Marivan, Ilam, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Isfahan, Urmia, and Ahvaz. The telecommunications retirees are protesting the failure to meet their demands, including the full implementation of the personnel and employment regulations from 2010 and the resolution of health insurance issues. Some of the slogans chanted by the protesting retirees included 'Neither Parliament nor Government cares for the nation,' 'Retiree, shout out, demand your rights,' 'Livelihood and food must be updated,' 'We heard many promises, but saw no results,' 'Shame on this ignorance, managers should be ashamed,' 'The dignity of retirees must be restored,' and 'What happened to the profitable company?' The telecommunications retirees' gatherings occur every Tuesday, known as 'Protest Tuesdays.' Concurrently with the protests of retirees and pensioners from the telecommunications company, protests over professional and livelihood issues continued among the official employees of the oil and gas exploitation company in Aghajari, Khuzestan province on Tuesday as well. The income lagging behind expenses has led to protests and gatherings among retirees. Some experts and economists state that the economic statistics published by the officials of the Islamic Republic are 'selective' and do not indicate any improvement in people's livelihoods. For instance, Ali Ghanbari, an economist and university professor, mentioned that 'the Central Bank waits to see in which month the statistics are positive and then publicizes it,' and despite officials' claims of a decrease in the monetary base and liquidity, 'people do not feel any effect of this decrease in their lives.' Furthermore, Jamshid Asadi, an economist, told Voice of America that the reason for the decline of the rial against foreign currencies stems from the collapse of the Iranian economy under the clerical regime, with factors such as war and sanctions exacerbating the situation. According to this economist, Iran's non-membership in the FATF has worsened the economic conditions significantly; the Iranian economy under the clerical regime has a 'cancerous disease,' and events such as the possibility of war are making it worse.