May 13 2020

Iranians held at least six protests in Iran’s capital, northwestern and southwestern Iran to express their economic woes yesterday.

Kerman coal workers

A large number of coal workers in the southeastern city of Kerman gathered for the seventh day in a row to express their economic grievances.

The protesters, who had gathered outside of the company’s building, said the company was selling its shares in the private sector, jeopardizing their job security.

Kerman’s coal mines have been transferred to the country’s Steel Pension Fund to settle government debts, and now the CEO of the Fund has announced the sale of the company’s shares in the stock exchange. The workers are worried about becoming contract workers again.

Mahshahr port medical staff

A number of medical workers in the port of Mahshahr, southwestern Iran, held a protest rally outside the city’s petrochemical industry hospital.

The protesters said that they had unpaid wages.

State-run TV retirees and employees

According to the ILNA state-run News Agency, around 200 retirees and employees of Iran’s state-run TV held a protest rally outside the Bilal Mosque in Tehran.

The protesters were demanding a promised 50% increase in their salaries. They said they were not getting equal pay compared to other government organizations.

A number of human resources managers attended the rally in an attempt to convince the protesters that the government had not given any funds for the wage raise, but protesters said that the wage deficiency was unacceptable and illegal.

According to the report, in January, the government announced a 50% increase in wages for all government organizations, but state-run TV financial managers claim that the government did not issue licenses or give any credit to the company for the raise.

Yasuj municipality bus organization drivers

A group of Municipality Bus Organization drivers in the southwestern city of Yasuj protested outside the Yasuj City Council to demand months of their unpaid wages.

The drivers said that officials only worried about their cars and not drivers going hungry.

Drivers and intercity bus owners in Qom

Iran’s state-run TV said that a number of drivers and bus owners in Qom, located south of Tehran, gathered outside the city’s bus organization to demand their unpaid wages, support and livelihood packages as well as unemployment insurance.

Laid off toll collectors in Qazvin province

According to the Free Trade Union of Iran, laid off toll collectors in Qazvin province, northwest of Iran, gathered outside the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in Tehran.

The laid off workers have held several similar protests in Tehran in the past.

According to the report, text messages were sent to 51 employees in April asking them to request unemployment insurance. This is while last year they were promised that they would be recruited by the Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization.

Source » iranwire

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