Since Sunday, March 3, Iranian teachers and educators staged nationwide strike in at least 20 cities across Iran following a previous call to protest against the Iranian regime’s lack of response to their legitimate demands. This round of teachers strike followed their previous strike last month (albeit at a larger scale) to protest suppression of activists, poor working conditions and low or unpaid wages, among other reasons.
The strikes were held in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, Sanandaj, Karaj, Qazvin, Marivan, Yazd, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Babol, Iranshahr, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Jolfa, Saqqez and a number of other cities across the country.
In a Statement on Monday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Iranian Resistance Parliament in exile, reported that the teachers and educators in at least 15 provinces have participated in the nationwide strike in a sit-in protest demanding their unpaid salaries of the past few months. These provinces include Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, West Azarbaijan, Zanjan, Khuzestan, Mazandaran, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Alborz, Hamedan, Isfahan, Yazd, Qazvin, South Khorasan and East Azarbaijan.
Iranian teachers have been regularly protesting for their rights, especially in the past year while different segments of the Iranian society have been concurrently protesting against economic woes, government corruption and lack of political freedom.
The teachers are asking better wages, free education for all, respect for the rights of minorities and the cancellation of several government plans that further put strain on the already poor living conditions of the education workers.
As the Iranian regime is discussing the budget for the upcoming Iranian year (starting on March 21), working and retired teachers are complaining that not enough funds are being allocated to the education sector while the regime has been allocating more budget for the so-called defense and military purposes each year including the funds for missiles program and repressive organs such as IRGC and Basij forces.
The protesting teachers are also calling for the release of several teachers’ rights activists incarcerated by the regime’s security forces for defending the rights of the underprivileged teachers.
In another development railway, workers, in some cities, such as Neyshabur and Andimeshk, went on strike to protest against the non-payment of their salaries and their insurance premium for the past few months as well as their bonus for the previous Iranian New Year. In addition, Tehran’s Bus Company workers gathered in front of the regime’s Ministry of Cooperatives to protest non-payment of their salaries, according to the NCRI.
Suppression, poverty, and plundering of public wealth as well as unemployment and deprivation of the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people are the result of the clerical regime’s corrupt policies, and these crises continue to intensify as long as this regime is in power.
Iran Democratic Association (IDA – Canada) supports the rights of Iranian teachers and other strata of the society to strike and peaceful protests and calls on all Teachers, Academics and Workers Unions in different countries across the globe to support their legitimate demands.
