As the world marks the International Workers Day, the conditions of the working class in Iran is deteriorating by the day. From retirees to active workers, people from different segments of society are facing declining purchasing power and wages that can’t cover basic needs.
To this end, people from different walks of life came to streets on Workers Day to protest the deteriorating economic conditions, growing repression and the regime’s disregard for their needs.
In Kermanshah, retired teachers and pensioners of the Social Security Organization held a protest rally to reiterate their demands on Labor Day. In addition to demanding higher pensions according to the regime’s own laws, they also condemned the growing wave of repression by the regime.
The teachers held a sign that read, “Teachers do not belong in prison. Release our colleagues,” referring to teachers’ rights activists that have been imprisoned by the regime for raising their voice against injustice and disregard for the needs of teachers.
The protesters also condemned the death sentence against Toomaj Salehi, artist and political prisoner sentenced to death for taking part in anti-regime protests in 2022. “Free Toomaj Salehi,” the protesters chanted after one of them spoke about the injustice of arresting the young man because of his critical songs.
In Mashhad, a group of retired workers and pensioners held a protest rally, chanting slogans for basic livelihoods and housing rights and reiterating their demands for higher pensions. According to the regime’s own laws, the government must adjust the pensions of retirees based on the costs of living. But while the prices of basic goods and services has been soaring in the past years, the regime has yet to increase pensions to provide the basic needs of the retirees.
In Arak, retired government employees held similar rallies and reiterated their demands for basic needs.
In Shush, a group of workers from Shush and Haft Tappeh rallied to mark the International Workers Day and to express their solidarity with all segments of society who are protesting for their basic rights. The workers of this region have been facing harsh conditions in the past years as the regime’s security forces have responded to their demands by cracking down on their rallies, arresting them, and sentencing them to long prison sentences.
For example, in the past two weeks, the workers of the Pars Paper company in Shush have been holding strikes and protest rallies as regime authorities have dismissed 100 of their coworkers in response to their demands for better working conditions and more decent pay.
This is the conditions of workers in Iran. Ironically, the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has been praising his officials for improving the conditions of workers and the economy with their policies. But as far as workers, teachers, and all hard-working segments of Iran’s society are concerned, their living and working conditions continue to worsen under the regime.
Rampant inflation, a depreciating currency, and the regime’s destructive policies in the region are taking their toll on the lives of millions of Iranians.
As the PMOI Resistance Units have been pointing out in their activities on the International Workers Day, the regime is the source of all the pains and suffering of workers and hardworking people, and the rights of workers will only be restored after this regime is overthrown.